The Canadian Banking Services and Investment Ombudsman (OBSI) A record number of over 10,000 public inquiries in 2022and the number of fraud complaints increased dramatically year-on-year.
OBSI is a national, independent, non-profit organization that addresses disputes between citizens and financial services. In its 2022 annual report, OBSI recorded a 40% year-over-year increase in public inquiries. According to OBSI, the surge was largely due to bank complaints, up 56% compared to 2021, while investment complaints increased by 8%.
According to OBSI, 1,151 cases were opened last year. This is also a record high, up 6% from the last record set in 2021.
“As Canadians, small businesses and financial services firms continue to grapple with unprecedented economic challenges, rising levels of financial stress, and rising rates of financial fraud, these transaction volumes will continue to grow,” Sarah Bradley said. The increase continues the trend seen throughout the pandemic period, said OBSI’s ombudsman and CEO, in a news release accompanying the report.
banking case
The 686 cases handled by OBSI in 2022 were from people dissatisfied with their banks, a 33% increase from 514 in 2021.
In addition to the economic pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bradley said last year’s changes to the Financial Consumer Protection Act meant more complaints were brought into and addressed through the system. It has become.
More consumers than ever before are using Canadian banks’ internal complaints services to resolve their concerns, and record numbers have escalated their concerns to us to seek independence in their cases. Seeking expert review.
Fraud was the leading issue for bank complaints in 2022, according to the report. 31% of banking cases filed by OBSI are fraud-related, up from 22% in 2021. money transfer, credit card, wire transfer.
19% of all bank complaints were for service issues, and credit card chargebacks accounted for 7% of all bank cases. OBSI adds interest rate complaints, which have increased from 9 in 2021 to 26 last year.
The top banking products for which OBSI received complaints in 2022 were credit cards, personal checking and savings accounts, and wire transfers. Complaints about wire transfers, on the other hand, accounted for 14%.
Investment case
Investment-related cases in 2022 decreased by about 18% compared to 2021.
“Investment deals entered the year somewhat modestly to levels close to pre-pandemic levels, but continued market downturn and volatility, as well as increased issues related to fraud and service issues,” Bradley said. Related investor concerns led to the surge, mainly in the second half of the year.” He said.
Fraud-related incidents surged from 1% in 2021 to 11% of all investment incidents in 2022, according to the report.
The breakdown of investment cases is as follows.
- Mutual funds – 37%
- Common stock (shares) – 33%
- Service issues – 21%
- Investment suitability – 15%
- Fee Disclosure – 8%
The latest category of complaints, crypto assets, will be the third most common investor complaint in 2022, accounting for 11% of all investment cases.
“The increase in cryptocurrency complaints is related to increased regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency dealers, leading to more dealers joining OBSI as participating firms in 2022,” OBSI said in a release. rice field.
Using files from The Canadian Press
