Your Rights and Responsibilities: Branch closures

Branch closures

• Right to be notified
  
  
• When a notice is not required, or the notice period may vary
  
  
• Community consultation
  

Right to be notified

Financial institutions are required to provide notice — at least four months and, in some cases, six months in advance — when planning a branch closure. This is to give consumers and communities time to take action and find other service options.

This applies to financial institutions with branches where:

• retail deposit accounts are opened, and
  
  
• cash is distributed to customers through an employee.
  
  

Four months' notice is required if the closure is taking place in an urban area (a city), or in a rural area where there is a retail deposit-taking branch of a financial institution within 10 km of the closing branch.

Six months' notice is required if the branch closure is taking place in a rural area and if there is no other retail deposit-taking branch of the financial institution within 10 km of the branch that is affected. If another retail deposit-taking branch of a financial institution is located within 10 km of the closing branch, even in a rural area the notice required is four months.

When notice is not required, or when the notice period may vary

Notice is not required if a branch is sold to another retail deposit-taking financial institution but will continue to operate as a branch.

The notice requirements also do not apply in the following situations:

• when events occur beyond the financial institution's control (for example, a fire at a branch location);
  
  
• when there are temporary disruptions in service that do not continue for more than 15 business days (for example, renovations);
  
  
• when a branch is being relocated or consolidated with one or more other branches and where the site of the relocated or consolidated branch is less than 500 metres from the site of the closed branch;
  
  
• when the closure or cessation is required as a result of supervisory intervention by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions or the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation;
  
  
• when the proposed closure or cessation is in response to a risk to the safety of personnel or the public;
  
  
• when the landlord has terminated a lease arrangement for the branch but has not given the institution enough notice of the termination to allow it to comply with the notice requirements — providing the Commissioner gives permission;
  
  
• when the relocation of a branch or its consolidation with one or more other branches involves moving more than 500 metres, but is not far enough from the former location, in the opinion of the Commissioner, to substantially affect either the customers served by the branch or the nature of the business of the branch;
  
  
• in an instance where the institution would face undue prejudice in complying with the notice requirements.
  

Community consultation

It is expected that financial institutions will consult with communities that are affected by a branch closing. However, FCAC can order a meeting between its representatives, the financial institution and the community about a branch closing.

A meeting can be held if an individual or community representative requests such a meeting by sending a letter to the FCAC Commissioner, and if the financial institution has failed to adequately consult the community about the closure or the cessation of activities. If the Commissioner finds the request valid, the financial institution will be required to hold a meeting.