An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to financial institutions (S.C. 2005, c. 54)
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Assented to 2005-11-25
1991, c. 46BANK ACT
32. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 165:
Marginal note:Election or appointment as director
165.1 The election or appointment of a person as a director is subject to the following:
(a) the person was present at the meeting when the election or appointment took place and did not refuse to hold office as a director; or
(b) the person was not present at the meeting when the election or appointment took place but
(i) consented in writing to hold office as a director before the election or appointment or within 10 days after it, or
(ii) acted as a director after the election or appointment.
33. Paragraphs 168(1)(g) and (h) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(g) a director may be removed from office only if the number of votes cast in favour of a motion to remove the director is greater than the product of the number of directors required by the by-laws and the number of votes cast against the motion; and
(h) the number of directors required by the by-laws may be decreased only if the number of votes cast in favour of a motion to decrease the number of directors is greater than the product of the number of directors required by the by-laws and the number of votes cast against the motion.
34. Subsection 177(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Directors filling vacancy
177. (1) Despite section 183 but subject to subsection (2) and sections 176 and 178, a quorum of directors may fill a vacancy among the directors except a vacancy resulting from a change in the by-laws by which the number or the minimum or maximum number of directors is increased or from a failure to elect the number or minimum number of directors provided for in the by-laws.
35. Paragraph 178(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) the remaining directors elected by the holders of that class or series of shares may fill the vacancy except one resulting from an increase in the number or the minimum or maximum number of directors for that class or series or from a failure to elect the number or minimum number of directors provided for in the by-laws for that class or series;
36. Subsection 182(3) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Director continues to be present
(3) A director who is present at a meeting of directors or of a committee of directors but is not, in accordance with subsection 203(1), present at any particular time during the meeting is considered to be present for the purposes of this section.
37. Section 184.1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (4):
Marginal note:Evidence
(5) Unless a ballot is demanded, an entry in the minutes of a meeting that the chairperson declared a resolution to be carried or defeated is in the absence of evidence to the contrary proof of that fact without proof of the number or proportion of votes recorded in favour of or against the resolution.
38. Paragraphs 198(b) and (c) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(b) fill a vacancy among the directors, on a committee of directors or in the office of auditor, or appoint additional directors;
(c) issue or cause to be issued securities, including an issue of shares of a series that is authorized in accordance with section 62, except in accordance with any authorization made by the directors;
39. Section 202 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Disclosure of interest
202. (1) A director or officer of a bank shall disclose to the bank, in writing or by requesting to have it entered in the minutes of a meeting of directors or a meeting of a committee of directors, the nature and extent of any interest they have in a material contract or material transaction with the bank, whether entered into or proposed, if they
(a) are a party to the contract or transaction;
(b) are a director or officer of a party to the contract or transaction or a person acting in a similar capacity; or
(c) have a material interest in a party to the contract or transaction.
Marginal note:Time of disclosure — director
(2) The disclosure shall be made in the case of a director
(a) at the meeting of directors, or of a committee of directors, at which the proposed contract or transaction is first considered;
(b) if at the time of the meeting referred to in paragraph (a) the director was not interested in the proposed contract or transaction, at the first one after they become interested in it;
(c) if the director becomes interested after a contract or transaction is entered into, at the first one after they become interested; or
(d) if a person who is interested in a contract or transaction becomes a director, at the first one after they become a director.
Marginal note:Time of disclosure — officer
(3) The disclosure shall be made in the case of an officer who is not a director
(a) immediately after they become aware that the contract, transaction, proposed contract or proposed transaction is to be considered or has been considered at a meeting of directors or of a committee of directors;
(b) if they become interested after the contract or transaction is entered into, immediately after they become interested; or
(c) if a person who is interested in a contract or transaction becomes an officer, immediately after they become an officer.
Marginal note:Time of disclosure — contract not requiring approval
(4) If the material contract or material transaction, whether entered into or proposed, is one that in the ordinary course of the bank’s business would not require approval by the directors or shareholders, the director or officer shall disclose to the bank, in writing or by requesting to have it entered in the minutes of a meeting of directors or of a committee of directors, the nature and extent of their interest immediately after they become aware of the contract or transaction.
Marginal note:1997, c. 15, s. 26(1)
40. Subsection 203(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Director to abstain
203. (1) A director who is required to make a disclosure under subsection 202(1) shall not be present at any meeting of directors, or of a committee of directors, while the contract or transaction is being considered or vote on any resolution to approve it unless the contract or transaction
(a) relates primarily to their remuneration as a director, officer, employee or agent of the bank, an entity controlled by the bank or an entity in which the bank has a substantial investment;
(b) is for indemnity under section 212 or insurance under section 213; or
(c) is with an affiliate of the bank.
Marginal note:2001, c. 9, s. 77.1(F)
41. Sections 204 to 206 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:General notice
204. (1) For the purposes of subsection 202(1), a general notice to the directors declaring that a director or officer is to be regarded as interested for any of the following reasons in a contract or transaction entered into with a party is a sufficient declaration of interest in relation to any contract or transaction with that party:
(a) the director or officer is a director or officer of a party referred to in paragraph 202(1)(b) or (c) or a person acting in a similar capacity;
(b) the director or officer has a material interest in the party; or
(c) there has been a material change in the nature of the director’s or officer’s interest in the party.
Marginal note:Access to disclosures
(2) The shareholders of the bank may examine the portions of any minutes of meetings of directors or committees of directors that contain disclosures under subsection 202(1), or the portions of any other documents that contain those disclosures, during the usual business hours of the bank.
Marginal note:Avoidance standards
205. (1) A contract or transaction for which disclosure is required under subsection 202(1) is not invalid and a director or officer is not accountable to the bank or its shareholders for any profit realized from it by reason only of the director’s or officer’s interest in the contract or transaction or the fact that the director was present or was counted to determine whether a quorum existed at the meeting of directors, or of a committee of directors, that considered it if
(a) the director or officer disclosed their interest in accordance with section 202 and subsection 204(1);
(b) the directors approved the contract or transaction; and
(c) the contract or transaction was reasonable and fair to the bank at the time that it was approved.
Marginal note:Confirmation by shareholders
(2) Even if the conditions set out in subsection (1) are not met, a director or officer acting honestly and in good faith is not accountable to the bank or its shareholders for any profit realized from a contract or transaction for which disclosure was required and the contract or transaction is not invalid by reason only of the director’s or officer’s interest in it if
(a) the contract or transaction is approved or confirmed by special resolution at a meeting of shareholders;
(b) disclosure of the interest was made to the shareholders in a manner sufficient to indicate its nature before the contract or transaction was approved or confirmed; and
(c) the contract or transaction was reasonable and fair to the bank at the time that it was approved or confirmed.
Marginal note:Court may set aside or require accounting
206. If a director or officer of a bank fails to comply with any of sections 202 to 205, a court, on application of the bank or any of its shareholders, may set aside the contract or transaction on any terms that the court thinks fit and may require the director or officer to account to the bank for any profit or gain realized on it.
42. Section 207 of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Director liability
207. (1) Directors of a bank who vote for or consent to a resolution of the directors authorizing the issue of a share contrary to subsection 65(1) or the issue of subordinated indebtedness contrary to section 80 for a consideration other than money are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable to the bank to make good any amount by which the consideration received is less than the fair equivalent of the money that the bank would have received if the share or subordinated indebtedness had been issued for money on the date of the resolution.
Marginal note:Further liability
(2) Directors of a bank who vote for or consent to a resolution of the directors authorizing any of the following are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable to restore to the bank any amounts so distributed or paid and not otherwise recovered by the bank and any amounts in relation to any loss suffered by the bank:
(a) a redemption or purchase of shares contrary to section 71;
(b) a reduction of capital contrary to section 75;
(c) a payment of a dividend contrary to section 79;
(d) a payment of an indemnity contrary to section 212; or
(e) any transaction contrary to Part XI.
43. Subsection 210(1) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Directors liable for wages
210. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the directors of a bank are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable to each employee of the bank for all debts not exceeding six months wages payable to the employee for services performed for the bank while they are directors.
Marginal note:2001, c. 9, ss. 78 and 79(F)
44. Sections 211 and 212 of the Act are replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Defence — due diligence
211. (1) A director, officer or employee of a bank is not liable under section 207 or 210 or subsection 506(1) and has fulfilled their duty under subsection 158(2) if they exercised the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in comparable circumstances, including reliance in good faith on
(a) financial statements of the bank that were represented to them by an officer of the bank or in a written report of the auditor or auditors of the bank fairly to reflect the financial condition of the bank; or
(b) a report of a person whose profession lends credibility to a statement made by them.
Marginal note:Defence — good faith
(2) A director or officer of a bank has fulfilled their duty under subsection 158(1) if they relied in good faith on
(a) financial statements of the bank that were represented to them by an officer of the bank or in a written report of the auditor or auditors of the bank fairly to reflect the financial condition of the bank; or
(b) a report of a person whose profession lends credibility to a statement made by them.
Marginal note:Indemnification
212. (1) A bank may indemnify a director or officer of the bank, a former director or officer of the bank or another person who acts or acted, at the bank’s request, as a director or officer of or in a similar capacity for another entity against all costs, charges and expenses, including an amount paid to settle an action or satisfy a judgment, reasonably incurred by them in respect of any civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other proceeding in which they are involved because of that association with the bank or other entity.
Marginal note:Advances
(2) A bank may advance amounts to the director, officer or other person for the costs, charges and expenses of a proceeding referred to in subsection (1). They shall repay the amounts if they do not fulfil the conditions set out in subsection (3).
Marginal note:No indemnification
(3) A bank may not indemnify a person under subsection (1) unless
(a) the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of, as the case may be, the bank or the other entity for which they acted at the bank’s request as a director or officer or in a similar capacity; and
(b) in the case of a criminal or administrative action or proceeding that is enforced by a monetary penalty, the person had reasonable grounds for believing that their conduct was lawful.
Marginal note:Indemnification — derivative actions
(4) A bank may with the approval of a court indemnify a person referred to in subsection (1) or advance amounts to them under subsection (2) — in respect of an action by or on behalf of the bank or other entity to procure a judgment in its favour to which the person is made a party because of the association referred to in subsection (1) with the bank or other entity — against all costs, charges and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with that action if they fulfil the conditions set out in subsection (3).
Marginal note:Right to indemnity
(5) Despite subsection (1), a person referred to in that subsection is entitled to be indemnified by the bank in respect of all costs, charges and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with the defence of any civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other proceeding to which the person is subject because of the association referred to in subsection (1) with the bank or other entity described in that subsection if the person
(a) was not judged by the court or other competent authority to have committed any fault or omitted to do anything that they ought to have done; and
(b) fulfils the conditions set out in subsection (3).
Marginal note:Heirs and personal representatives
(6) A bank may, to the extent referred to in subsections (1) to (5) in respect of the person, indemnify the heirs or personal representatives of any person whom the bank may indemnify under those subsections.
45. Paragraph 213(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) in the capacity of a director or officer of another entity or while acting in a similar capacity for another entity, if they act or acted in that capacity at the bank’s request, except if the liability relates to a failure to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the entity.
46. Paragraph 217(1)(j) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(j) change the province in which the head office of the bank is situated.
47. Paragraph 224(2)(a) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(a) the name of the amalgamated bank and the province in which its head office is to be situated;
48. (1) Subsection 226(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Right to vote
(2) Each share of an applicant carries the right to vote in respect of an amalgamation agreement whether or not it otherwise carries the right to vote.
(2) Subsection 226(3) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Separate vote for class or series
(3) The holders of shares of a class or series of shares of each applicant are entitled to vote separately as a class or series in respect of an amalgamation agreement if the agreement contains a provision that, if it were contained in a proposed amendment to the by-laws or incorporating instrument of the applicant, would entitle those holders to vote separately as a class or series.
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