pc
nid 94207
Jul 23, 2026
ataylor@vixio.com
Canada
Competition Bureau Canada
financial services
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2146 charsFinancial Consumer Agency of Canada Publishes Independent Evaluation of Banking Complaints Body
On July 22, 2026, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) released a statement regarding the independent evaluation of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), the external complaints body for banking consumers in Canada.
The FCAC supervises the compliance of federally regulated banks and OBSI with complaint-handling requirements established under the Bank Act, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act, and the Financial Consumer Protection Framework Regulations. Legislation requires OBSI to undergo an independent evaluation of its functions and activities every five years, overseen by FCAC. These evaluations follow terms of reference established in consultation with FCAC and are conducted by an independent evaluator.
OBSI's most recent independent evaluation report indicates the organisation has met regulatory requirements and implemented improvements since the previous evaluation in 2021. The report also recommends progressive improvements to OBSI's operations. The FCAC will monitor OBSI's implementation of these recommendations. All banks must be members of OBSI, which provides consumers with a free and impartial review of complaints unresolved through the bank's internal process or where the bank has not resolved the complaint within 56 days of receipt, as required by legislation. The FCAC emphasises that access to fair, timely, and accessible complaint-handling procedures, including the right to use the external complaints body, is fundamental to maintaining trust in the financial system and enhancing consumer protection. In June 2026, the FCAC published a revised Guideline on Complaint-Handling Procedures for Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks, reinforcing expectations that banks implement effective, timely, and accessible complaint-handling processes.
REFERENCES:
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. (2026, July 22). FCAC statement on the independent evaluation of the external complaint body for banking. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/news/2026/07/fcac-statement-on-the-independent-evaluation-of-the-external-complaint-body-for-banking.html
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2542 charsFinancial Consumer Agency of Canada Announces Independent Evaluation of Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments
On July 22, 2026, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) published a statement regarding the independent evaluation of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). The evaluation, conducted by consultancy crkhoury (CRK), covers OBSI's functions and activities across both its banking and investments mandates and assesses OBSI's compliance with its obligations under the Bank Act and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). The report finds that OBSI meets its regulatory requirements and has implemented improvements since the previous independent evaluation in 2021. The evaluation also makes several recommendations for improvements to OBSI's operations.
Key findings and recommendations from the evaluation include:
Governance: The evaluator found OBSI's governance framework is effective and compares well with international good practice. The evaluator recommends that when a vacancy arises, OBSI should appoint a Consumer Interest Director with recent experience working with an organization dealing with financial services consumer problems on a day-to-day basis.
Timeliness and backlog: OBSI has experienced significant growth in volumes, with complaints increasing from around 1,100 in 2021 to over 6,000 in 2025, creating a backlog in assigning complaints to investigators. The evaluator recommends setting a target of 30 days to assign a case to an investigator and reporting on compliance with this target.
Systemic issue reporting: The evaluator found OBSI's reporting of potential systemic issues to be somewhat cautious and recommends amending the definition of systemic issue to include complaints raised by a single complainant, requiring OBSI to report repeated systemic issues year-after-year even if the same issue was identified in prior years, and enhancing communication between regulators and OBSI once a systemic issue has been identified by OBSI.
Procedural fairness and reconsiderations: The evaluator recommends that in more complex, higher value complaints, OBSI should generally only rely on participating firm documents to draw adverse conclusions against complainants where the documents have been shared with the complainant. The evaluator also recommends a focused external legal review of the reconsideration function in mid-2027 to ensure issues raised by complainants are being appropriately inquired into and related matters.
FCAC will monitor OBSI's implementation of the recommendations. The report is available on OBSI's website.