The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published a draft Corporate Governance Guideline (CGG) for federally regulated financial institutions.

On November 7, 2017, OSFI announced that it is seeking feedback on the revisions made to the guidelines, which can be emailed to governance@osfi-bsif.gc.ca by December 22, 2017.

The amendments include:

  1. More discretion to boards on how they meet the principles of the CGG with a greater focus on 'what' the Board should achieve rather than 'how' the board should meet those objectives;
  2. Emphasize the Board's responsibility to play an active advisory role on strategy, risk appetite, capital plans and key policies, leaving their implementation to Senior Management.
  3. Focus on consolidating board expectations in risk management and capital guidelines into clear principles.

OSFI announced that it expects to issue the final CGG in spring 2018, following the public consultation.

About BLG

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.