Canada’s Bank Act review is officially underway

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Sept. 20 officially sounded the starting gun to the Bank Act review.The federal government is mandated to review statutes that govern federally regulated financial institutions every five years. The last legislative review was completed in 2007. The sunset date for the financial institutions statutes is April 2012.In a press release announcing the reforms, Flaherty pointed out that the global financial crisis that began in 2007 has already led to extensive changes in the regulatory framework, so the current exercise is not likely to lead to major reforms.”Some fine-tuning to the system may be required, but wholesale change is not necessary,” he said.