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MEDIA RELEASE

OTTAWA - Today, the Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition (CCRC) called on Finance Minister Paul Martin to close key gaps in his policy paper on financial services to ensure consumers, communities and businesses are protected from abuse by financial institutions. While Martin adopted the CCRC's proposals for an independent financial services ombudsman, Public Accountability Statements for financial institutions, a right to a low-cost account, and protection from tied selling and invasion of privacy, he ignored the CCRC's proposals in other key areas.
 The CCRC pointed out that its proposals are supported by a majority of Canadians (according to several polls), and were endorsed by Martin's own federal task force, the Finance Committee and the Senate Banking Committee in their December 1998 reports.
 "Paul Martin has plugged some holes by proposing bank accountability and consumer protection laws," said Duff Conacher, Coordinator of Democracy Watch and Chairperson of the CCRC, "But in key areas Martin has unfortunately left loopholes and protected Canada's big banks and other financial institutions, instead of protecting the public interest."
 The CCRC called on Martin to respond to the support for the CCRC's proposed bank accountability measures and close the gaps in his proposals by requiring financial institutions to:

• Provide details on all loans, investments and services to individuals and businesses community by community across the country and, as the U.S. has for over 20 years, require corrective action and penalize institutions that are not meeting customer needs (including prohibiting mergers or takeovers of other financial institutions until the system is in place and if an institution does not serve all customers fairly and well).
• Facilitate the creation of a consumer-funded and directed Financial Consumer Organization (FCO) by enclosing an FCO flyer in their mailings to customers.
• Undertake a detailed, mandatory review of any proposed branch closure.
• Limit holds on cheques, as in the U.S.
• Prove that they aren't gouging us with excessive credit card interest rates.