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In Canada, banks account for over 50 per cent of the total
domestic assets held by the financial services sector. Other
players include insurance companies, trust companies, caisses
populaires, and credit unions. Canada's six major domestic
banks account for about 90 per cent of the bank industry's
assets. These six banks operate in the United States and
throughout the world. Currently, international operations
account for about 40 per cent of their net revenue.
Capitalization levels of Canadian banks exceed the minimum
standards set by the Bank for International Settlements.
The Canadian banking system runs very smoothly with service
fees, credit card costs and interests spread on intermediated
credit compared with major banks around the world.
Press
The Toronto Star
Bank mergers still unpopular
with consumers
Sandra Cordon
December 26, 2004
Public opinion polling in Canada
shows that a solid majority of the population thinks that
they would be better served if big banks did not merge.
Canadian banks are waiting for the Finance Minister to release
final policy guidelines that the banks must meet to merge.
The Minister has been procrastinating on the subject for
months, probably because of the public’s negative
view of bank mergers.
Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
'Code' protects payday
loan customers in Canada
December 1, 2004
Most Canadian payday loan outlets
have signed on to a code of practice aimed at stopping the
exploitation of vulnerable borrowers. The new rules are
designed to protect payday loan customers and unify industry
business practices by establishing “standards in the
areas of disclosure of information, business practices and
consumer education."
The Canadian Press (CP)
Time for government
to foreclose on payday lenders: social service group
GARY NORRIS
November 17, 2004
Standing Senate Committee on Banking Report, Ottawa, Issue 1
Proceedings of the Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce
November 18, 2004
CAW Ottawa
Fringe Banking in Winnipeg's North End
March 2005
Making Waves Vol. 15 No. 2
Is There an Alternative to Fringe Banking
April 4, 2005
Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
Where Do You Pay?
April 25, 2005
Broadcast News/Western General News (Canada)
Bank of Nunavut Opens in Eastern Arctic
April 27, 2005
The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
Studies Warn Against Money Transfer Crackdown
May 30, 2005
Ottawa Citizen
Visa mixup shows need for a Probe of Immigration
June 6th 2005
M2 Presswire
Mint & Affinity to Role out 100,000 MasterCard cards
June 9th 2005
National Symposium on Financial Capability Conference Report
Canadians and their Money
June 10th 2005
Legislation
Banking law
Contact
Banking (and insurance) regulator:
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)
Kent Square, 255 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H2,
Canada
Tel + (1) 613 990 7788
Fax + (1) 613 990 5591
Web www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca
OSFI is instructed to “strive to protect the interests
of depositors, creditors and policy holders” (while
at the same time “having due regard” for the
fact that financial institutions should be allowed to compete
effectively)
OSFI Regional Offices:
Toronto
P.O. Box 39
121 King Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5H 3T9
Telephone (reception):
(416) 973-6662
Montreal
200 René Lévesque Blvd. W.
Suite 903
Montreal, Quebec
H2Z 1X4
Telephone (reception):
(514) 283-4836
Vancouver
P.O. Box 11
1095 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 2M6
Telephone (reception):
(604) 666-5335
See, www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca/eng/whoweregulate.asp
Commonwealth of Canada. Department of Finance. 1999. Reforming
Canada’s Financial Service’s Sector: A Framework
for the Future. Ottawa: Department of Finance.
Highlights
Draft legislation was introduced in 2000 as Bill C-38 (titled
An Act to Establish the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada,
and to Amend Certain Acts in Relation to Financial Institutions)
based on the recommendations of the task force. This bill
was not acted upon and was eventually derailed by the 2000
federal elections. The bill was reintroduced as Bill C-8
(titled An Act to Establish the Financial Consumer Agency
of Canada, and to Amend Certain Acts in Relation to Financial
Institutions) in 2001 with minor changes and was passed
by the Canadian Parliament later that year. The enacted
legislation contains a number of important, although voluntary
community reinvestment measures.
C-8 created the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)
under the Ministry of Finance and funded by the Consolidated
Revenue Fund paid into by all financial institutions (similar
to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency).
This agency is responsible for reviewing an institution’s
voluntary consumer protection codes. These voluntary consumer
protection codes are “non-regulatory” agreements
that usually pertain to account term disputes and are not
enforceable by FCAC. Financial institutions are also required
to file a report describing their consumer complaints procedures.
All of these disclosures would be made to the regulatory
agency only, and would not be available for public review.
Violations, as determined by the agency, would trigger fines
of up to $100,000.
All federally regulated financial institutions are now
required to give public notice of branch closings. While
the FCAC would not have the authority to prescribe branch
distribution requirements, three months’ notice is
now required for all branch closings. Branch closings in
underserved areas require six months’ notice.
Under C-8, the FCAC was also granted the authority to set
up an independent intermediary organization to handle consumer
banking complaint issues. Instead of creating a new organization,
the Canadian Banking Ombudsmen, which had handled banking
disputes since 1996, was merged with the consumer complaint
office under development by the banking industry. Now called
the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, the
office makes recommendations on about 200 cases involving
deposit-taking institutions each year.
C-8 was criticized by the Canadian Community Reinvestment
Coalition for not enacting mandatory requirements for low-cost
bank accounts, providing subsidies for bank branches in
underserved communities, or providing an independent consumer
complaint board to resolve disputes. Most importantly, the
new regulations did not require the disclosure of mortgage
lending data.
The Minister of Finance and the financial institutions
also produced a Memorandum of Understanding in 2001, describing
the availability of low cost bank accounts. Eight of Canada’s
16 largest banks signed this initial agreement, agreeing
to offer low-fee accounts with no minimum balance or deposit.
In 2003, all of the original banks renewed their agreement
to provide low-cost accounts. The government is committed
to monitor these targets, but believes that it should encourage
a self-regulatory approach and not set national standards.
Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition (Canada) -- www.ccrc.org
Coalition of over 100 non-profits working to improve banking
accountability in Canada.
Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition. Access Denied:
The Failure of Voluntary Measures to Improve Banking Services,
(June 1999). (4 February 2004).
Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition. An Accountability
System for Financial Institutions in Canada, (September
1998). (18 November 2003).
Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition. Comparison of
Amendments set out in Bill C-8 to Financial Institution
and Other Laws v. CCRC Recommendations, (February 2001).
(4 February 2004).]
Some Experience:
The agency has confirmed that it considers public comments,
for example those submitted in connection with Royal Bank
of Canada - Centura, and applications by CIBC and Toronto-Dominion.
See also,
The U.S. CRA -- to Canada? NOW Magazine, Ottawa, May 1998
http://www.now.com/issues/17/35/News/city.html
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Canada