In important respects the Canadian banking system differs from those of the European countries which have been described and from that of the United States. It consists of a varying number of relatively large institutions, each with several offices administered from a common center, but without a central bank. For some time the total number has decreased, since 1900 from thirty-six to twenty-seven, in spite of the fact that the Canadian law, like that of the United States, provides for the formation of new banks at any time, on compliance with certain prescribed conditions, including a subscribed capital of at least $500,000 and a paid-up capital of at least $250,000. The number of branches, however, has increased rapidly, much more rapidly than the population. The most noteworthy legal provisions pertaining to the banking business in Canada concern note issues and loans and discounts. Regarding the establishment of branches, the amount, and, with one exception, the composition of the reserves, and many other matters carefully regulated by law in the United States, Canadian bankers are left free to follow their own judgment. Neither is there public examination of banks in Canada. Reports must be regularly made to the Minister of Finance, and he may call for special reports whenever he desires so to do; but neither he nor any other public officer has the right to examine a bank's books or to quiz its officers or directors. In contrast with banking legislation in the United States, another peculiar feature of Canadian law is the incorporation of the Canadian Bankers' Association, an organization resembling in essentials the American Bankers' Association, and the assignment to it of important functions connected with the issue of notes and the winding up of the affairs of failed banks.