The Reporter provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments, although this information is tracked by BLG and can be provided on request. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered.

May 2015

Institution Published Title and Brief Summary Status
Finance[Applicable to Banks, cooperative credit associations, trust and loan companies and insurance companies] Published (Gazette) – June 3, 2015 SOR/2015-0108 Regulations Amending the Protection of Residential Mortgage or Hypothecary Insurance Regulations

SOR/2015-0109 Regulations Amending the Housing Loan (Insurance, Guarantee and Protection) Regulations

The Protection of Residential Mortgage or Hypothecary Insurance Regulations and the Housing Loan (Insurance, Guarantee and Protection) Regulations (collectively referenced as the regulations) have each been amended to provide the following:
  1. prohibit substitution, (i.e. replacing an insured mortgage loan with another mortgage loan under existing insurance coverage) except where
    1. a new mortgage loan is made to the same borrower for the purpose of discharging the outstanding balance of a prior mortgage loan, as long as it continues to be insured under existing insurance coverage;
    2. a new loan is made to a borrower to modify the terms of an existing loan (i.e. loan workout) in order to reduce or avoid losses on a real or potential mortgage insurance claim;
  2. mortgage insurers that commit to insure a pool of mortgage loans are prohibited from adding mortgage loans more than one year after the commitment is made; and
  3. a grandfathering clause excludes portfolio insurance coverage that was entered into before the coming into force of the amendments.
 In Force May 15, 2015
Finance [Applicable to Banks, cooperative credit associations, trust and loan companies and insurance companies] Introduced (H of C) – May 7, 2015 Bill C-59 An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 21, 2015 and other measures

Division 19 of Part 3 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Cooperative Credit Associations Act to modernize, clarify and enhance the protection of prescribed supervisory information that relates to federally regulated financial institutions.		 Second Reading, May 25, 2015
Finance [Applicable to cooperative credit associations] Published (Gazette) – May 6, 2015 SI/2015-30 Order Fixing January 15, 2017 as the Day on which Certain Sections of the Act Come into Force Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 2

The objective of this Order is to implement a commitment made under Economic Action Plan 2014, that is to improve and clarify the federal regime for credit unions to further strengthen Canada's financial system by ensuring that provincial governments appropriately supervise and support their own financial institutions.

Accordingly, this Order sets the date for OSFI's withdrawal and related consequential amendments as January 15, 2017, approximately two years from Royal Assent of the Act. This transition period allows provinces and industry to make adjustments to provincial frameworks, including to provincial legislation, as needed.		 In force January 15, 2017
Bank of Canada Issued May 5, 2015 Public Consultations on the Bank of Canada's Framework for Financial Market Operations and its Emergency Lending Assistance Policies

The Bank of Canada has published three documents:
  1. An overview note which provides the general context for the Bank's reviews of its framework for financial market operations and its emergency lending policies;
  2. A consultation paper discussing a range of possible changes to the Bank's framework for financial market operations; and
  3. A consultation paper proposing changes to the Bank's Emergency Lending Assistance (ELA) policies to individual financial institutions and Financial Market Infrastructures.
 Comments should be submitted by July 4, 2015

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