Bulletins

Participating firm fees are set annually by the OBSI Board of Directors in accordance with our corporate Bylaw. As a not-for-profit organization, participating firm fees fund all our operations and are set on a cost-recovery basis.

It is something none of us wants to think about – what will happen if I or someone I care about becomes ill and needs assistance with our finances?

During times of economic uncertainty, people often feel stressed about their finances. They spend more time thinking and worrying about money. Many will face unexpected expenses or loss of employment and lose the sense of security they had with their banks or firms. This may lead to concerns about being treated fairly.

Recent financial market turmoil has created an exceptionally challenging environment for financial firms and their customers. Past market downturns have demonstrated that in such difficult times, consumer complaints increase, placing an additional strain on firm resources.

Romance and employment scams are the most common online scams we see at OBSI. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians lost more than $22.5 million to romance scams and more than $5 million to employment scams in 2018.

As students head to college or university, financial services firms can expect visits from parents and students planning to make Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) withdrawals, but this process is not straightforward and can have consequences that many consumers do not expect.

Binary options are a very high-risk investment that Canadians should avoid. It is like a placing an all or nothing bet on the performance of an underlying asset.

As you may have heard, fraudsters recently claimed to have access to the personal and account information of some BMO and Simplii Financial clients.

OBSI is pleased to announce the launch of our newly updated Consent Letter and What to Expect document.

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is one of many ways to save for your child’s education. When choosing an RESP it is important to shop around and to understand the range of different RESP types available in Canada.