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Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Nova Scotia have bolstered assets more than fivefold in the past two decades, as the country’s three biggest lenders distance themselves from their smaller peers.

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[np_storybar title=”Forget everything you knew about investing in Canadian banks — it’s no longer relevant” link=”http://business.financialpost.com/2014/06/02/forget-everything-you-knew-about-investing-in-canadian-banks-its-no-longer-relevant/”]Time was a bank was a bank, but not any more, analysts say. Here are strategies that will help you navigate the sector’s changing landscape

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A Bloomberg chart shows how Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the nation’s largest lender in 1998, fell to fifth spot while Bank of Montreal, the No. 3 lender in the mid-1990s, slipped to fourth as the pace of asset growth lagged rivals.

“Over the past 20 years, three banks have emerged as the big Canadian banks,” Peter Routledge, an analyst with National Bank Financial, said. “Those three banks have separated themselves in terms of size and diversity.”