Bank Act (S.C. 1991, c. 46)

Marginal note:Advisory committee

623 The Superintendent may appoint a committee of not more than six members to advise the Superintendent in respect of the assets and all other matters pertinent to the duties and responsibilities of the Superintendent in exercising control of the assets. The committee shall be appointed from among the banks and authorized foreign banks that are subject to an assessment under section 23 of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act and required to share in the expenses resulting from the taking of control of the assets of the authorized foreign bank under subsection 619(1) or (2.1).

Marginal note:Expenses payable by authorized foreign bank

• 624 (1) If control of the assets of an authorized foreign bank has been taken under subparagraph 619(1)(b)(i) or (ii) or paragraph 619(2.1)(b) or (c) and the control expires or is relinquished under section 620 or paragraph 622(a), the Superintendent may direct that the authorized foreign bank be liable for repayment of all or part of the expenses resulting from the taking of control of the assets and assessed against and paid by other authorized foreign banks and by banks under section 23 of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act, together with any interest in respect of the expenses at any rate that is specified by the Superintendent.

• Marginal note:Debt due to Her Majesty

  (2) Where any direction is made under subsection (1), the amount for which the authorized foreign bank is liable is a debt due to Her Majesty in right of Canada payable on demand and is recoverable in the Federal Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction.

Marginal note:Priority of claim in liquidation

625 In the case of the winding-up of the business in Canada of an authorized foreign bank, the expenses resulting from the taking of control of the assets of the authorized foreign bank under subsection 619(1) or (2.1) and assessed against and paid by other authorized foreign banks and by banks under section 23 of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act and interest in respect of the expenses at any rate that is specified by the Superintendent, constitute a claim of His Majesty in right of Canada against the assets of the authorized foreign bank that ranks after any claim referred to in paragraph 627(1)(d).

Marginal note:Application of assessment

626 Any amount recovered under section 624 or 625 shall be applied to reduce the total amount of expenses incurred for or in connection with the administration of this Act.

Marginal note:Order of priority for payment of claims

• 627 (1) Subject to sections 72 and 94 of the Winding-up and Restructuring Act, where a winding-up order under that Act is made in respect of an authorized foreign bank,

  • (a) the payment of any amount due to Her Majesty in right of Canada, in trust or otherwise, in respect of the business in Canada of the authorized foreign bank is a first charge on the assets of the authorized foreign bank;

  • (b) the payment of any amount due to Her Majesty in right of a province, in trust or otherwise, in respect of the business in Canada of the authorized foreign bank is a second charge on the assets of the authorized foreign bank;

  • (c) the payment of the deposit liabilities of the authorized foreign bank and all other liabilities of the authorized foreign bank in respect of its business in Canada, except the liabilities referred to in paragraph (d) and section 625, is a third charge on the assets of the authorized foreign bank; and

  • (d) the payment of any fines and penalties for which the authorized foreign bank is liable in respect of its business in Canada is a last charge on the assets of the authorized foreign bank.

• Marginal note:Priority not affected

  (2) Nothing in subsection (1) prejudices or affects the priority of any holder of any security interest in any property of an authorized foreign bank.

• Marginal note:Priorities

  (3) Priorities within each of paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) shall be determined in accordance with the laws governing priorities and, where applicable, by the terms of the liabilities referred to in those paragraphs.

PART XII.2Dealings with Customers and the Public

DIVISION 1Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 627.01 (1) The following definitions apply in this Part.

  business day

  business day does not include a Saturday or a holiday. (jour ouvrable)

  charge

  charge includes interest and, for greater certainty, a fee. (frais)

  complaint

  complaint means dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, expressed to an institution with respect to

  • (a) a product or service in Canada that is offered, sold or provided by the institution; or

  • (b) the manner in which a product or service in Canada is offered, sold or provided by the institution. (plainte)

  credit agreement

  credit agreement includes an agreement for a line of credit, a credit card or any other kind of loan that is repayable in Canada. (convention de crédit)

  deposit-type instrument

  deposit-type instrument means a product that is issued in Canada by an institution, that is related to a deposit and that specifies a fixed investment period and either

  • (a) a fixed rate of interest; or

  • (b) a variable rate of interest that is calculated on the basis of the institution’s prime lending rate or an interest rate benchmark. (instrument de type dépôt)

  eligible enterprise

  eligible enterprise means a business with authorized credit of less than $1,000,000, fewer than 500 employees and annual revenues of less than $50,000,000. (entreprise admissible)

  institution

  institution means a bank or an authorized foreign bank. (institution)

  interest

  interest, in relation to an agreement for a deposit-type instrument, a principal-protected note or a prescribed product, includes any return payable by an institution under the agreement. (intérêt)

  interest rate benchmark

  interest rate benchmark means a rate that is determined from time to time by reference to an assessment of one or more underlying interests, is made available to the public, either free of charge or on payment, and is used for reference for determining the interest payable, or other sums that are due, under loan agreements or other financial contracts or instruments. (taux d’intérêt de référence)

  maintenance charge

  maintenance charge means a charge in relation to a prepaid payment product that is imposed after the product has been purchased, other than a charge associated with the use of the product or of any service related to it. (frais de tenue de compte)

  member bank

  member bank means a bank that is a member institution as defined in section 2 of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act. (banque membre)

  optional product or service

  optional product or service means a product or service that is provided in Canada by an institution, an affiliate that the institution controls or an agent or representative of the institution or affiliate, for an additional charge, as a supplement to another product or service that is offered or provided by the institution. (produit ou service optionnel)

  personal authentication information

  personal authentication information means a personal identification number or any other password or information that a borrower creates or adopts to be used to authenticate their identity in relation to a credit card or credit card account. (authentifiant personnel)

  personal deposit account

  personal deposit account means a deposit account in the name of one or more natural persons that is kept by that person or those persons other than for business purposes. (compte de dépôt personnel)

  point of service

  point of service means a physical location to which the public has access and at which an institution carries on business with the public through natural persons in Canada. (point de service)

  prepaid payment product

  prepaid payment product means a physical or electronic product that is issued in Canada by an institution, that is or can be loaded with funds and that can be used to make withdrawals or purchase goods or services. (produit de paiement prépayé)

  principal-protected note

  principal-protected note means a financial instrument that is issued in Canada by an institution to a person and that

  • (a) provides for one or more payments to be made by the institution that are determined, in whole or in part, by reference to an index or reference point, including

    • (i) the market price of a security, commodity, investment fund or other financial instrument, and

    • (ii) the exchange rate between any two currencies; and

  • (b) provides that the principal amount that the institution is obligated to repay at or before the note’s maturity is equal to or greater than the total paid by the person for the note.

  A principal-protected note does not include a financial instrument that specifies that the interest or return on the instrument is determined solely on the basis of a fixed rate of interest or return or a variable rate of interest or return that is calculated on the basis of the institution’s prime lending rate or an interest rate benchmark. (billet à capital protégé)

  promotional product

  promotional product means a prepaid payment product that is purchased by an entity and distributed as part of a promotional, loyalty or award program. (produit promotionnel)

  registered product

  registered product means a registered education savings plan, a registered retirement savings plan, a registered retirement income fund, a registered disability savings plan or any other plan, arrangement or fund to which Division G of Part I of the Income Tax Act applies that is provided by an institution to a natural person. (produit enregistré)

  residential mortgage

  residential mortgage means a loan made in Canada on the security of residential property that has four or fewer residential units. (hypothèque résidentielle)

  retail deposit account

  retail deposit account means a personal deposit account that is opened with a deposit of less than $150,000 or of less than any greater prescribed amount. (compte de dépôt de détail)

  retail deposit-taking branch

  retail deposit-taking branch means a branch or office in Canada of a financial institution at which the financial institution, through a natural person, opens retail deposit accounts and disburses cash to customers. (succursale de dépôt de détail)

  rural area

  rural area means an area located in Canada outside an urban area. (zone rurale)

  undue pressure

  undue pressure means any pressure, imposed in the form of a practice or communication or otherwise, that could be reasonably considered to be excessive or persistent in the circumstances. (pressions indues)

  urban area

  urban area, on a particular day, means a population centre, as defined in the census dictionary published by Statistics Canada for the purpose of the most recent general census whose results have been published before that day, that has a minimum population of 10,000 natural persons on the basis of that census. (zone urbaine)

• Marginal note:Business purposes

  (2) For greater certainty, a reference to “business purposes” in a provision of this Part is a reference to the business purposes of the natural person referred to in the provision.

DIVISION 2Fair and Equitable Dealings

Responsible Business Conduct

General Requirements

Marginal note:Training

627.02 An institution shall ensure that its officers and employees in Canada, and any person who offers or sells the institution’s products or services in Canada, are trained with respect to the policies and procedures that it has established for complying with the consumer provisions.

Marginal note:False or misleading information

627.03 No institution shall communicate or otherwise provide false or misleading information to a customer, the public or the Commissioner.

Marginal note:Prohibited conduct

627.04 An institution shall not, in its dealings in Canada with its customers and the public,

• (a) impose undue pressure on a person, or coerce a person, for any purpose, including to obtain a product or service from a particular person — including the institution and any of its affiliates — as a condition for obtaining another product or service from the institution;

• (b) take advantage of a person; or

• (c) engage in any prescribed conduct.

Marginal note:For greater certainty

• 627.05 (1) For greater certainty, an institution may offer a product or service to a person on more favourable terms or conditions than it would otherwise offer, if the more favourable terms and conditions are offered on the condition that the person obtain another product or service from any particular person.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (2) For greater certainty, an affiliate of an institution may offer a product or service to a person on more favourable terms or conditions than the affiliate would otherwise offer, if the more favourable terms and conditions are offered on the condition that the person obtain another product or service from the institution.

• Marginal note:Approval by institution

  (3) If a product or service is obtained by a borrower from a particular person as security for a loan from an institution, the institution may require that the product or service meet with its approval. That approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.