by Dawn Jetten and Bonny Murray of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Further to our July 2012 Blakes Bulletin: New Oversight for Banking Complaints, the final Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations (the final Regulations) were published in the Canada Gazette on April 10, 2013. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has also published Commissioner’s Guidance CG-12 Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR Guidance) and CG-13 Application Guide for External Complaint Bodies (ECB Application Guide). The final Regulations and related amendments to the Bank Act come into force on September 2, 2013. The IDR Guidance and the ECB Application Guide take effect on the same date.

by Brandon Barnes, Eric Belli-Bivar, and James Kelsall of Davis LLP

Introduction

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI“) issued the ‘final’ version of its Capital Adequacy Requirements Guideline (the “Final Guideline“) in response to the reforms adopted by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (“BCBS“) in December 2012. These reforms, commonly known as “Basel III“, are intended to strengthen global capital adequacy rules and encourage greater resilience in the banking sector. The Final Guideline came into effect on January 1, 2013, with the exception of provisions governing Credit Valuation Adjustment, which come into effect on January 1, 2014. Capitalized phrases used in this bulletin and not otherwise defined are terms of art in the Final Guideline, which is accessible here.

In implementing Basel III, OSFI has made a number of important changes to the previously issued version of the guideline which will affect the way that Canadian banks and other deposit taking institutions (“DTIs“) determine capital adequacy. This bulletin provides

by Richard E. Farley of Paul Hastings LLP

On July 2, 2012, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, commissioned Martin Wheatley, Managing Director of the U.K. Financial Services Authority (the “FSA”) and Chief Executive Designate of the Financial Conduct Authority (one of the successors to the FSA), to undertake a review (the “Wheatley Review”) of the structure and governance of LIBOR and the corresponding criminal sanctions regime. On August 10, 2012, Wheatley issued an Initial Discussion Paper setting out the direction of his initial thinking on the necessary reforms and requesting responses to a number of consultation questions by September 7, 2012. On September 28, 2012, Mr. Wheatley and his review team issued their Final Report setting out their recommendations regarding the reformation of LIBOR. The Wheatley Review recommendations will be considered for inclusion in the Financial Services Bill which is currently being considered by the House of Lords.

by Richard J. Bortnick and Gary M. Klinger of Cozen O’Connor

[Ed.: We are covering this U.S. decision since it may influence Canadian Courts.]

In a landmark decision, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals held in “Patco Construction Company, Inc. v. People’s United Bank”, No. 11-2031 (1st Cir. July 3, 2012) that People’s United Bank (d/b/a Ocean Bank) was required to reimburse its customer, PATCO Construction Co., for approximately $580,000 that had been stolen from PATCO’S bank account. In so doing, the court reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine that had granted summary judgment in the bank’s favor.