On June 11, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) updated its COVID-19 FAQs to address the dividend increase restriction applicable to federally regulated deposit-taking institutions and...more
On May 1, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada’s prudential banking regulator, issued guidance on the use of internal capital buffers by small and medium-sized banks (SMS Banks) and...more
On April 9, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced further measures to support the financial and operational resilience of Canada’s federally regulated financial institutions as they...more
On April 4, 2020, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (Basel Committee) announced new measures aimed at alleviating the impact of COVID-19 on the global banking system. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial...more
On March 27, 2020, and March 30, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced additional measures to support the financial and operational resilience of federally regulated financial...more
At close of business on March 13, 2020, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada’s prudential regulator, announced several actions to support the stability of the Canadian financial system in...more
On December 5, 2019, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released the final version of the updated Guideline B-6: Liquidity Principles (Guideline). The Guideline applies to banks and federally...more
Recently, the federal government published amendments to the regulations made under the United Nations Act (UN Act) and the Special Economic Measures Act (SEMA), Canada’s key sanctions legislation. Among other changes, the...more
In 2018, financial institutions in Canada witnessed yet another year of significant expansion in legislation and regulatory guidance impacting their operations....more
Canada, like other major jurisdictions, has a broad range of economic and financial sanctions targeting foreign states and their nationals, as well as various terrorist organizations.
Given that Canada is in many ways a...more
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) recently published Draft Guideline B-5: Asset Securitization (Draft Guideline), which sets out an updated regulatory framework for the securitization...more
On September 18, 2018, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released the final version of its revised Corporate Governance Guideline (Revised CG Guideline), following consultations in late 2017....more
2017 marked another year of prodigious development of legislation and regulatory guidance impacting federal financial institutions in Canada.
The new wave of initiatives in 2017 included the second stage of the...more
2/8/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Canada ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Finance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
FCAC ,
Financial Institutions ,
IFRS ,
Marijuana ,
Mortgages ,
OSFI
In November 2017, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released for public comment a revised draft of its Corporate Governance Guideline (CG Guideline). The proposed revisions follow...more
Canada, like other major jurisdictions, has introduced a broad range of economic and financial sanctions targeting foreign states and their nationals, as well as various terrorist organizations.
Given that Canada is in...more
On November 3, 2017, the Government of Canada introduced regulations under the recently enacted Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) (SML) imposing an asset freeze on a number of foreign...more
Two recent developments in the Canadian economic sanctions regime are notable for Canadian financial institutions and businesses engaged in international trade: Canada has imposed new sanctions against Venezuela under the...more
Canada, like other major jurisdictions, has introduced a broad range of economic and financial sanctions targeting foreign states and their nationals, as well as various terrorist organizations.
Given that Canada is in...more
10/3/2017
/ Canada ,
Corruption ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Exports ,
Foreign Official ,
Imports ,
North Korea ,
OSFI ,
Russia ,
Ukraine ,
United Nations
On June 16, 2017, Canada’s Department of Finance and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published for comments a package of draft regulations and guidelines setting out the final details of...more
Canada, like other major jurisdictions, has introduced a broad range of economic and financial sanctions targeting foreign states and their nationals, as well as various terrorist organizations.
Given that Canada is in...more
The regulation of federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) continued intensifying in 2016 with a new wave of legislative and regulatory initiatives impacting mortgage lending, the bank resolution regime, the life...more
1/19/2017
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Canada ,
Corporate Governance ,
FCAC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FRFI ,
IFRS ,
Margin Requirements ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
OSFI ,
Risk Management ,
Technology
On December 21, 2016, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), released for comment a new draft Guideline E-23 on enterprise-wide model risk management (Guideline). The draft Guideline aims to...more
Canada has a highly concentrated financial sector with six large Canadian domestic banks holding 93 per cent of all bank assets — one of the highest concentration levels in G7 countries, according to the International...more
Financial institutions in Canada witnessed yet another year of significant growth in legislation and regulatory guidance impacting their operations, while the financial marketplace is continuing to adapt to the impact of...more
1/21/2016
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Canada ,
Capital Requirements ,
Credit Cards ,
Debit Cards ,
Derivatives ,
FCAC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FSB ,
IAIS ,
IFRS ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mortgages ,
National Housing Act (NHA) ,
OSFI ,
Payment Systems ,
PIPEDA ,
Popular ,
Recapitalization ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Shareholders
2014 was a year replete with new legislative and regulatory initiatives impacting federally regulated financial institutions. The key initiatives introduced or implemented in 2014 are outlined in our annual year in review....more
1/21/2015
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Canada ,
Capital Requirements ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
FATCA ,
FCAC ,
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs) ,
International Monetary Fund ,
Life Insurance ,
Liquidity Coverage Ratio ,
Mortgage Insurance ,
OSFI ,
Payment Systems ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Russia ,
Sanctions ,
Ukraine