Large Value Transfer System
The Large Value Transfer System, or LVTS, is a system in Canada for electronic wire transfers of large sums of money; it permits the participating institutions and their clients to send securely large sums of money in real-time with complete certainty that the payment will settle.
LVTS processes the majority of payments made every day in Canada, and is designed to work with funds in Canadian dollars (CAD). On a normal business day, it clears and settles around CAD $115 billion.
Frequently, when settling the payments made through LVTS between each other, some banks find themselves with extra funds, while others find themselves short; to come up with money, the banks can borrow it from each other for a day, or "overnight". The rate at which they borrow is called overnight rate, targets for which are set by the Bank of Canada as part of its monetary policy.
Participating Institutions
As of 2006, there were 15 institutions participating in LVTS:
- Alberta Treasury Branches
- Bank of America National Association
- Bank of Canada
- Bank of Montreal
- Bank of Nova Scotia
- BNP Paribas (Canada)
- CIBC
- Credit Union Central of Canada
- HSBC Bank Canada
- Laurentian Bank of Canada
- La Caisse centrale Desjardins du Québec
- National Bank of Canada
- Royal Bank of Canada
- State Street Bank and Trust Company
- Toronto-Dominion Bank