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MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday, March 15, 2001

OTTAWA - Today, in testimony before the House of Commons Finance Committee, the Canadian Community Reinvestment Coalition (CCRC) called on the Committee to close key gaps in Bill C-8, the proposed financial institutions legislation, to ensure consumers, communities and businesses are protected from abuse by financial institutions. While Bill C-8 includes the CCRC's proposals for an independent Financial Services Ombudsman, Public Accountability Statements for financial institutions, and some account-opening measures, the bill ignores other key CCRC proposals.

In addition, in many consumer protection areas, the detailed rules that determine consumers' rights, and financial institutions' responsibilities, will not be known until regulations are passed after the bill becomes law. The CCRC believes all measures should be in Bill C-8.

"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 the Finance Committee to respond to the broad support for the CCRC's proposed measures and close key gaps in Bill C-8 by requiring financial institutions to:

• Provide much more detail in the Public Accountability Statements on loans, investments and services community by community across the country and, as the U.S. has for over 20 years, grade the banks in each area, and require corrective action and penalize institutions that are not meeting customer needs.
• Go through a Public Interest Review process for mergers or takeovers of any financial institutions and if an institution does not serve customers fairly and well it should be grounds to deny a merger or takeover, as in the U.S.
• 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 they aren't gouging Canadians with excessive credit card interest and fee rates.