(Bloomberg) — The Canadian province of Alberta didn’t use Bank of America when it sold a euro-denominated bond deal in late March, a break from its practice for such sales over the past six years.
Alberta sold a €1.25 billion ($1.4 billion) bond on March 26 using Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank as bookrunners. Germany’s NordLB acted as a co-manager on the deal. That was the first time Bank of America was missing from the syndicate group for an Alberta government euro bond issue of more than €100 million since 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Governments in Canada have been curbing their relationships with US businesses in reaction to President Donald Trump’s trade war and his repeated comments that he wants to make Canada the 51st state. After his administration went ahead with tariffs on Canadian goods in early March, Alberta’s government said it would purchase goods and services from companies in Alberta or Canada — “or countries with which Canada has a free trade agreement that is being honored.”
Justin Brattinga, a spokesperson for Alberta’s finance department, said there’s no blanket ban on working with US-based banks. “We continue to have strong relationships with US financial institutions and will work with them in the future as necessary in bond syndicates to ensure the best performance,” he said by email.
“The province is continuously monitoring and assesses the performance of the service providers employed for its funding activities and adjusts its borrowing syndicate based on that performance,” he said.
Bank of America helped underwrite deals totaling €3.85 billion for the province in 2019, 2020 and 2024. A representative for the bank declined to comment.
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