Final Complaints Regulations Published Plus New FCAC Guidance

Further to our July 2012 Blakes Bulletin: New Oversight for Banking Complaints, the final Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations (the final Regulations) were published in the Canada Gazette on April 10, 2013. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has also published Commissioner's Guidance CG-12 Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR Guidance) and CG-13 Application Guide for External Complaint Bodies (ECB Application Guide). The final Regulations and related amendments to the Bank Act come into force on September 2, 2013. The IDR Guidance and the ECB Application Guide take effect on the same date.

Although the final Regulations apply only to banks and authorized foreign banks, the IDR Guidance sets out the FCAC's expectations for the internal dispute resolution (IDR) policies and procedures for all federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs), not just banks and authorized foreign banks. Further, as