PIAC asks for stronger language in the FCAC’s proposed Guideline for banks’ internal complaint-handling procedures

Recently, PIAC commented on the Consultation on Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) Proposed Guideline on Complaint-Handling Procedures for Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks.

The proposed Guideline sets out FCAC’s expectations with respect to banks and authorized foreign banks’ implementation of, and compliance with, the new complaint-handling provisions in the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Protection Framework Regulations (FCPF), which will come into force June 30, 2022.

Notably the amended Bank Act and FCPF will require banks to: deal with each complaint within 56 days following the day it is received; refrain from using misleading terms with respect to complaint-handling procedures, including any term that suggests that the procedures, officers or employees are independent of the bank (e.g., “ombudsman”); and create records of all complaints and retain them for 7 years.

In our comments, PIAC supported the FCAC’s inclusion of expectations regarding systemic issues and redress and reimbursement policies not found in CG-12, the existing guidance for Federally Regulated Financial Institutions (FRFIs) including banks. However, PIAC recommended the FCAC use stronger language to describe these new expectations and include more explicit references to the above noted FCPF consumer protections. We also recommended that the FCAC take additional steps to improve record-keeping expectations to better facilitate independent, third-party adjudication and include in the Guideline the expectation that banks only record, report, or publish a complaint as having been resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant when the complainant confirms this to be true in writing.

Read our full submission here

 

Recently, PIAC commented on the Consultation on Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) Proposed Guideline on Complaint-Handling Procedures for Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks. The proposed Guideline sets out FCAC’s expectations with respect to banks and authorized foreign banks’ implementation of, and compliance with, the new complaint-handling provisions in the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Protection Framework Regulations (FCPF), which will come into force June 30, 2022.

In our comments, PIAC supported the FCAC’s inclusion of expectations regarding systemic issues and redress and reimbursement policies not found in CG-12, the existing guidance for Federally Regulated Financial Institutions (FRFIs) including banks. However, PIAC recommended the FCAC use stronger language to describe these new expectations and include more explicit references to the above noted FCPF consumer protections.