Today, the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) assumed its responsibilities as Canada's single external complaints body (ECB) for federally regulated banks.
As part of its mandate, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) protects consumers of financial products and services by supervising the compliance of federally regulated banks and the ECB with their legal obligations, including the right of consumers to a fair, timely and accessible complaint-handling process.
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, designated OBSI as Canada's single ECB in October 2023. The Minister made this designation based on the recommendation of FCAC.
All federally regulated banks must now be members of OBSI. Previously, Canadian banks could choose between one of two ECBs: the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) or the ADR Chambers Banking Ombuds Office (ADRBO). The six Canadian banks that previously used ADRBO (Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Scotiabank, National Bank of Canada, Tangerine Bank, and Digital Commerce Bank) have now transferred to OBSI. ADRBO will complete the investigation and resolution of complaints that it received and that remain open as of November 1. FCAC recognizes the important role played by ADRBO while acting as an ECB for several years.
The move to a single ECB addresses findings from FCAC's 2020 report on the Operations of External Complaints Bodies, which concluded that consumers face delays and complications when escalating their banking complaints.
Effective complaint handling is a cornerstone of consumer protection. The move to a single ECB is good news for consumers and further strengthens complaint handling in Canada. When combined with the complaint handling requirements introduced under Canada's Financial Consumer Protection Framework, this change will provide Canadians with a more effective complaint handling system in banking.
OBSI is a national, independent and not-for-profit organization that has been assisting Canadian banking consumers in resolving disputes for over 25 years. As the single ECB, OBSI is responsible for providing a fair and impartial process for consumers whose complaints have not been resolved to their satisfaction or dealt with in a timely manner by banks.
One of FCAC's key roles is to supervise the complaints-handling system within banks, as banks have a legislative responsibility to handle consumer complaints. Consumers can report their complaints to FCAC, but the Agency does not resolve individual disputes. FCAC uses information from consumer complaints to inform its supervisory activities and monitor trends and issues that may have an impact on financial consumers.
