The latest banking scandle to hit North America involves nature rather than numbers.
The Bank of Canada is facing major embarrassment after issuing a C$20 bill with the wrong kind of maple leaf printed on it. According to botanist Sean Blaney, the maple leaf on the bill is a Norwegian leaf, not the Canadian sugar maple leaf on the national flag.
The offending maple leaf Image: M Smullen |
Blaney brought this botanic blunder to the attention of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation(CBC). The news was met with a repost by the central bank that the image was designed to be a combination of various kinds of maple leaves.
"It is not a Norway maple leaf. It is a stylized maple leaf and it is what it ought to be," said Bank of Canada currency spokesman Julie Girard.
This follows hot on the heels of another banking blunder when the Bank of Canada had to apologize in August after news broke that it replaced the picture of an Asian lab assistant on its new C$100 banknote with a woman who looked more Caucasian. This was a case of damned if you do, damned if you don't - focus groups had said Asians should not be the only group represented. Critics then accused the bank of racism.