Ted Falk, Member of Parliament for Provencher, recently seconded Bill C-379, sponsored by Dan Albas, Member of Parliament for Central Okanagan – Similkameen – Nicola. If passed, Bill C-379 would amend the Bank Act to authorize use of the words ‘bank’, ‘banker’ and ‘banking’ by credit unions and caisses populaires that are provincially regulated.
In June, the federal government issued an advisory prohibiting the use of bank-related terms by non-bank financial service providers. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said such institutions would have until the end of June 2019 to phase out the use of terms like ‘bank’, ‘banker’, and ‘banking’ in signage, with earlier deadlines in place for their removal from websites and printed materials.
“Local credit unions are pillars in rural communities yet the federal government wants to force them to stop using terms like ‘bank’, ‘banker’, and ‘banking’ – a demand that is both expensive and completely unnecessary,” said Falk. “I’m pleased to be supporting this common sense legislation.”
