Financial Consumer Agency of Canada tells Senate it will supervise Bank Act consumer fraud amendments and deliver a bank fees report in 2026

In an opening statement to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Commerce and the Economy during its study of Bill C-15, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada outlined its market conduct supervision and enforcement remit for federally regulated financial entities and said it is ready to oversee upcoming Bank Act amendments aimed at consumer-targeted fraud. The Commissioner highlighted recent supervisory and enforcement outcomes, including FCAC’s early 2023 guideline setting expectations for banks to proactively contact mortgage holders showing signs of financial stress. By September 2025, more than 144,000 mortgage holders had been offered relief measures, avoiding more than CAD 7.52 million in penalties and fees from late or missed mortgage payments. FCAC also reported that since 2024 more than CAD 100 million has been reimbursed to consumer and business accounts, and that since 2022 regulated entities have paid nearly CAD 27 million in penalties for consumer protection violations, which FCAC publishes along with the nature of the violation and the name of the entity. The agency noted the recent launch of its Research and Data Exchange as an online hub for sharing data and insights with stakeholders. FCAC said it will supervise industry compliance with the fraud-related Bank Act requirements once they come into force, and that it has begun a study on the structure, level and transparency of fees charged by Canadian banks, which it expects to complete in 2026. Budget 2025 measures referenced in the statement also include a proposal to introduce a Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Economic Abuse for federally regulated banks.