Toronto's downtown banks empty out ahead of G20

With security worries mounting and traffic disruptions expected to increase, banks are shutting downtown branches and have told many employees to work from home.

The few that have shown up for work have dressed down, swapping expensive Brioni and Canali suits for casual Polo shirts and slacks to avoid making themselves targets of protesters who have promised to disrupt the downtown ahead of and during the June 26-27 Toronto summit.

The smaller summit of the rich Group of Eight countries will take place in the resort town of Huntsville, Ontario, 215 km (135 miles) north of Toronto, just ahead of the broader G20 gathering.

"Business has virtually stopped this week. Clients say they're working from home, but for a lot of them, home happens to be (summer cottages) for the week," said John Ing, president of Toronto investment dealer Maison Placements.

"Meetings have been postponed, because restaurants are closed."

(...) Given the proximity of Canadian banks' head offices to the G20 summit, where financial sector reform will be a key issue, there are fears the office buildings and nearby branches could become targets for protesters.

That concern was underscored by the firebombing of a Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) branch in Ottawa last month. An anarchist group claimed responsibility for the blaze, which caused about C$500,000 in damages, and said it also planned to disrupt the G20 summit. Police arrested three man last week in connection with the firebombing.

"We will be closing some branches in close proximity to the security zone and putting in a plan to ensure that our critical businesses continue to operate," said Rob McLeod, a spokesman for Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), Canada's No. 5 bank.

A total of about three dozen branches among the big banks are expected to be closed during the summit.