Record Retention Issues – Information Sharing With External Complaint Bodies And Tolling Agreements

With the proliferation of emails and other electronic documents, many federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) are updating their record retention policies to manage their documents. These policies need to take into consideration (1) the sharing of documents relating to customer complaints with external complaint bodies (ECBs); (2) the tolling agreements that most FRFIs are entering with their ECBs; and (3) the new Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations (the New Regulations) which came into force on September 2, 2013, and which impose additional obligations on banks and authorized foreign banks (Banks) regarding customer complaints (see our April 2013 Blakes Bulletin: Update: Final Complaints Regulations Published Plus New FCAC Guidance).