OSFI superintendent resigns

Following the release of a draft proposal for the merger of Ontario’s Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) set for this coming fall, former FSCO head Dina Palozzi has announced her early retirement. Reports suggest that Palozzi has accepted the position of executive vice president, client relations, at investment dealer BMO Nesbitt Burns. She is expected to take up her position in July of this year.

It is expected that the new office resulting from the FSCO/ OSC merger will follow a closer management approach to that of the former OSC. This has raised concerns among insurers and brokers that the industry’s interests will be “lost in the bigger picture”. The merger proposal suggests that the current insurance superintendent role managed by Palozzi will be split into two portfolios of “insurance” and “pensions”.

Palozzi has been the superintendent of FSCO since its formation in 1998. Her record with government service in total spans 28 years. Past posts included a stint as deputy minister of financial institutions, during which she was responsible for the merger of the province’s insurance, pension and deposit taking institution regulation under the FSCO banner. Palozzi is also chair of the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators and co-chair of the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators.