Federal Consumer Code For Banks — Proposed Bank Act Amendments

On October 25, 2016, the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-29, Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2 (the Bill). If enacted, the Bill would impact more than 50 domestic and authorized foreign banks operating in Canada. 

The amendments to the Bank Act proposed by the Bill have three broad purposes: (i) to assert federal paramountcy over consumer protection regarding banking products and services, as a response to a trilogy of Supreme Court cases decided in 2014 (referred to collectively as Marcotte), (ii) to implement enhancements in the areas of corporate governance, access to basic banking services, disclosure of information, business practices, and public reporting, and (iii) to consolidate the currently dispersed consumer protection provisions in one part of the Bank Act.