The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says it investigated 708 potential or actual breaches of legislation, regulations, voluntary codes of conduct and public commitments in 2015-2016.
FCAC regulates 367 financial entities, including banks, insurers and credit card companies.
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“All compliance issues were addressed in a timely and effective manner,” says FCAC in its annual report, though it did not provide a timeline for resolving complaints.
FCAC says its enforcement resulted in changes that led to significant market conduct improvements. That includes updated credit card statements or other disclosures for clarity.
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Other companies found to be deficient then developed training materials to ensure frontline staff meet their obligations to consumers. Still others were required to improve internal documentation to avoid compliance breaches.
FCAC is developing a new supervision framework that will outline principles and tools to promote, monitor and enforce responsible market conduct among federally regulated financial entities. A consultation with stakeholders is planned for the fall, with publication anticipated for fiscal 2016-17.