This entry updates our entry of April 9, 2013 and this corresponding Osler Update by Andrew Herr regarding the Final Guidance on Leveraged Lending. On April 11, 2013, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and the American Bankers Association (ABA) issued a joint letter to Office of the Controller of the Currency, the Board of Governors… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Regulation
Subscribe to Regulation RSS FeedGovernment Announces New Complaints Regulations for Bank Customers, Oversight by Federal Consumer Agency of Canada
Posted in Bank Act, Consumer Credit, RegulationOn April 10, 2013, the Canadian federal government announced the final publication of new regulations that will govern the system for resolving complaints regarding products or services provided by banks and authorized foreign banks in Canada (the “Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations”). The regulations (which were first published for comments… Continue Reading
U.S. Regulators Issue Final Guidance on Leveraged Lending
Posted in Debt Markets, RegulationAndrew Herr has published an Osler Update titled “U.S. Regulators Issue Final Guidance on Leveraged Lending.” You can read the full update here on Osler.com. On March 22, 2013, U.S. regulators, consisting of the Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) and the Federal Deposit… Continue Reading
The Canadian Federal Budget and Financial Institutions
Posted in RegulationThe recently published federal budget (titled “Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013”) included high level guidance regarding the Government’s priorities for the regulation of financial institutions, services and markets. The details of how these areas will be regulated will become clear only when the applicable legislation and regulations are introduced. Below is a brief overview of… Continue Reading
Canada’s Largest Six Banks Designated as Systemically Important by OSFI
Posted in RegulationIn conjunction with A framework for dealing with domestic systemically important banks issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) has issued an Advisory, “Domestic Systemic Importance and Capital Targets – DTIs.” The Advisory identifies each of Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank… Continue Reading
Amendments to Anti-Money Laundering Regulations
Posted in Anti-Money Laundering, RegulationOn February 13, 2013, the Government of Canada published in the Canada Gazette certain amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (the “Regulations”). These amendments will come into force one year after their publication (i.e., in February 2014). The full text of the amendments can be found here. In summary,… Continue Reading
OSFI Publishes Advisory Regarding Ownership Interests in Commodities Taken by Federally Regulated Financial Institutions
Posted in Bank Act, Derivatives, RegulationIn response to inquiries from federally regulated financial institutions (“FRFIs”), the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) has published Advisory 2013-01, Business and Powers – Ownership Interest in Commodities. The Advisory sets out principles relevant to determining whether a transaction that involves an FRFI taking an ownership interest in commodities generally appertains to… Continue Reading
Mobile Payment Transactions – Proposed Expansion of the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada
Posted in Payments, RegulationOn September 18th, 2012, the federal government announced the proposed expansion of the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the “Code”) to apply to credit and debit network participants that provide point-of-sale payment services through mobile devices. The government undertook to amend the Code, which currently does not expressly address… Continue Reading
Draft Letter Issued by OSFI – Capital Disclosure Requirements for Financial Institutions
Posted in RegulationOn August 13, 2012, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions issued for public comment a draft letter (the “Draft Letter”) that provides clarification on the implementation of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s final rules regarding the information that financial institutions must publicly disclose when detailing the composition of their capital (the “BCBS… Continue Reading
OSFI releases draft revisions to its Guideline on Corporate Governance
Posted in Corporate Governance, RegulationOn August 7, 2012, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released for public comment draft revisions to its Guideline on Corporate Governance. The draft Guideline updates the original version, first published in 2003, and includes refinements in the areas of board effectiveness, including composition and competencies; risk governance, including risk appetite and… Continue Reading
Revised OSFI Guideline B-20 – Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures
Posted in Mortgages, RegulationThe final version of the revised Guideline B-20 Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures was published by OSFI on June 21, 2012. The Guideline, together with the tightening of the rules for government-backed insured mortgages announced by the Minister of Finance on the same day (to, among other things, reduce the maximum amortization period to… Continue Reading
New Proposed Regulations for Federal Credit Unions – A Step Closer to a Federal Regime
Posted in RegulationThe Federal Government has just released new regulations in draft form which are intended to implement recent amendments to the Bank Act pursuant to which new or existing credit unions could come under the Bank Act and continue as federal credit unions, thereby retaining the essential characteristics of a credit union but at the same… Continue Reading
Importance of Anti-Money Laundering Controls
Posted in RegulationIf businesses needed any evidence of the importance of having adequate anti-money laundering controls in place, perhaps the possibility of a $1 billion fine that could be imposed by U.S. regulatory authorities on a financial institution for having inadequate controls will get their attention. See the link to this story at http://www.domain-b.com/finance/banks/hsbc/20120713_helping_fund.html. In Canada, a… Continue Reading
Federal Government Creates a Stronger Bank Consumer Complaints System
Posted in RegulationThe Federal Government has proposed a new regime for the handling of complaints by customers of banks. While banks are already required to have a consumer complaints procedure in place and to be a member of an external complaints body where unresolved complaints can be referred, the current system has not been satisfactory to many… Continue Reading
Corporate Governance Issues for Smaller Financial Institutions
Posted in RegulationOn May 24, 2012, OSFI Superintendent Julie Dickson delivered a speech to the Trust Companies Association of Canada. The speech was focused on highlighting certain governance issues especially relevant to smaller financial institutions. The following issues were discussed: Lack of Diversification: Because smaller financial institutions generally have a lack of diversification in product lines and… Continue Reading
Financial Institutions and Cloud Computing: An Update from OSFI on Guideline B-10 – Reading Their Message Between the Lines
Posted in RegulationIt would not be an exaggeration to say that a number of technology companies (and their customers) see Cloud Computing as an important development on the question of how to store ever increasing amounts of data at a reasonable price and at the same time permit the accessing of that data in an efficient manner…. Continue Reading
Mortgage Prepayment under the Interest Act – More Exempt Entities
Posted in RegulationOn January 1, 2012, the Prescribed Entities and Classes of Mortgages and Hypothecs Regulations (the “Regulations”) under the Interest Act (Canada) (the “Act”) came into force. The Regulations expand the class of “prescribed entities” that are exempted from the protections afforded by Section 10 of the Act. Section 10 of the Act provides for mandatory… Continue Reading
Anti-Money Laundering Legislation – Canadian Department of Finance Review
Posted in RegulationIn December 2011, the federal government launched a consultation aimed at updating Canada’s regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The Department of Finance released a consultation paper setting out proposals to strengthen Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing legislative framework, which is administered through the PCMLTFA. Comments on the consultation paper are requested… Continue Reading
Quebec Bill 24 Proposes New Requirements for Consumer Contracts of Credit
Posted in Consumer Credit, RegulationThis entry is based on a recently published E-Review on www.osler.com. On June 7th, 2011, An act to combat consumer debt overload and modernize consumer credit rules (Bill 24) was tabled in the National Assembly of Québec. If enacted in its current form, Bill 24 will affect a broad scope of businesses, but predominantly those which… Continue Reading
Canadian Department of Finance Announces Scheduled Review of Financial Institutions Legislation
Posted in RegulationThe Honourable Jim Flaherty, Canadian Minister of Finance has announced a scheduled review of legislation governing financial institutions that are regulated by the federal government. According to the announcement, this review is scheduled to occur every five years. In soliciting comments, the Minister noted that "some fine-tuning to the system may be required, but wholesale change is not necessary."
Financial Services Reform Adopted in United States: Sweeping New Rules Will Affect All U.S. Public Companies
Posted in Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, RegulationOn July 21, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Act), which in various iterations has been the subject of intense debate on Capitol Hill for much of the past year. The Act will bring about a major revamping of the U.S. financial regulatory landscape, including the… Continue Reading
Canadian Government Launches Task Force for the Review of Payment Systems in Canada
Posted in RegulationOn June 18th, 2010 the Minister of Finance announced the launch of the Task Force for the Payments System Review. The Task Force is to make recommendations to the Minister by the end of 2011. This is an effort to have public policy keep pace with the rate of change in payment methods. The Task… Continue Reading
G-20 Fails on Bank Tax, Calls for Joint ‘Principles’
Posted in Legislation, RegulationAs reported in Bloomberg Businessweek, on June 5, 2010, the G-20 finance ministers failed to agree on a proposal to impose a global tax on banks, settling instead for a common set of guidelines. G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors said in a statement in Busan, South Korea, that governments will take account of… Continue Reading
SEC Proposes New Rules for Issuance of Asset-Backed Securities
Posted in Regulation, SecuritizationOn April 7, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules that would revise the disclosure, reporting and offering process for the issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in the United States. According to the related press release issued by the SEC: “The proposed rules are intended to provide investors with more detailed… Continue Reading