We would like to thank all those who provided their input to our loss calculation for complaints involving unsuitably sold illiquid exempt market securities consultation. The public consultation period was announced September 26, 2024, and the comment period for the project closed November 21, 2024. This consultation focused on assessing the process we currently use and helping us determine whether there are better alternative approaches we should adopt in such cases. This consultation was recommended in our 2021 independent expert external review.

Toronto, November 1, 2024 – Starting today, OBSI will serve as Canada’s sole, designated External Complaints Body (ECB) for banking. From today, OBSI will be accepting complaints from consumers of all federally regulated banks. This decision, made by the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, streamlines the complaint resolution process for consumers across the country. 

As a not-for-profit organization, OBSI recovers all of its budgeted operating expenses from its participating firms each year. OBSI's budget and the allocation of this budget between the different industry sectors that use OBSI's services is approved by OBSI's Board of Directors each September. Our board also considers fairness and the impact of fee changes on member firms when setting fees. A guiding principle is that no sector or registrant category should subsidize another.