Independent Evaluation of OBSI’s Banking Complaints Mandate Released

Toronto, September 1, 2022 – Today, the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) released the results of its 2021 independent evaluation of its operations and practices for banking related complaints. OBSI undertakes independent expert evaluations of its operations every five years.

This banking evaluation was the second of two concurrent reviews conducted by Professor Poonam Puri, one of Canada’s leading experts in corporate governance, corporate law, and securities law, whose review of OBSI’s investment operations was published on June 13, 2022. Professor Puri delivered her findings to the OBSI Board of Directors and to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), which oversees External Complaints Bodies (ECBs) for Canada’s federal banking sector.

The report concluded that OBSI had met and exceeded its obligations under the Bank Act Complaints Regulations and the requirements under the Commissioner’s Guidance-13, and found that:

1. OBSI has dealt with complaints in a timely manner;
2. Investigators were able to identify key issues in a complaint and requested additional documents where necessary;
3. Investigators were skilled at conducting interviews and assessing credibility;
4. Investigators kept the parties apprised of progress in the investigation, were candid with the parties about the merits of the case, and explained their views well and as early as possible;
5. Decision reasons were fair, proportionate, and were explained in plain language; and
6. Case conclusions flowed from the evidence.

With respect to Canada’s ECB system, the reviewers said that they shared the concerns identified in the FCAC’s 2020 report on the multiple-ECB model, which observed that competition among ECBs was not consistent with international standards, introduced inefficiencies and complexity for consumers and negatively affected consumers’ perceptions of the fairness and impartiality of the system. Although the reviewers provided their perspective on the issue, they did not include a recommendation on establishing a single ombudsman for banking complaints as they said it was outside the mandate of their review and the subject of current government action pursuant to the most recent federal budget.

The report made 25 recommendations, including that OBSI be given binding authority when rendering its decisions. The report also observed that during the five-year period under review OBSI undertook significant projects to improve its service delivery, upheld standards of fairness and impartiality and closed investigations in a timely manner. Of particular note, they commended OBSI for managing its highest ever case volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic without delays in completing investigations.

“We welcome Professor Puri’s report on OBSI’s banking operations, which commended OBSI for its success over the five-year period under review,” said OBSI Chair Maureen Jensen. “The board would like to thank her for her excellent work leading this banking review. We will consider the recommendations carefully and engage with all of our stakeholders to ensure that OBSI makes any changes needed to continue to fulfill its public interest mandate.”

To read the 2021 banking mandate report, click here. Previous independent reviews can be found here.

OBSI’s Terms of Reference, Bank Act regulation, and its MOU with the CSA require OBSI to be independently evaluated every five years. The purpose of these independent reviews is to determine whether OBSI is fulfilling its regulatory obligations and operating effectively in accordance with recognized best practices for financial services ombudsmen.

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Canada’s Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with all stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer. Where a complaint has merit, OBSI may recommend compensation up to a maximum of $350,000.

For more information, contact:

Mark Wright, Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations
416-287-2877 ext.2225
publicaffairs@obsi.ca