Shaping the Future in an Evolving Financial Marketplace — Opening remarks by Interim Commissioner Werner Liedtke

May 21, 2024

Toronto, Ontario

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Welcome to Shaping the Future in an Evolving Financial Marketplace. 

This is a special event – hosted by FCAC, with our federal partners – for leaders in the financial industry. 

Thank you for joining us in what I anticipate will be an informative and insightful program, with an opportunity for an open and transparent exchange of views.

I would first like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of many nations, including: 

• the Mississaugas of the Credit, 

• the Anishnabeg, 

• the Chippewa, 

• the Haudenosaunee, and 

• the Wendat peoples. 

And that this land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. 

Toronto is also covered by Treaty 13, signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties, signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands.

I am pleased to open this event in my role as Interim Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, or FCAC.

The focus today is to explore the rapid digital transformation of the financial services industry and the opportunities and risks that come with it. 

From the proliferation of new modes of payment, evolving threats, and consumer-driven banking, the financial landscape is shifting.

Today’s panelists are uniquely positioned to explain how financial safety-net agencies collaborate on these shared priorities.

For those less familiar with our mandate, FCAC is an independent federal agency that protects the rights and interests of consumers of financial products and services.

We work in close collaboration with our federal partners, including those represented on our panel today: 

• the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, 

• the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation,  

• the Bank of Canada, 

• the Department of Finance and 

• the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. 

Collectively, we coordinate our activities on matters relating to financial stability, systemic vulnerabilities, and the supervision of federally regulated financial institutions.  

FCAC carries out its mandate in 2 principal ways:

First, as a regulator, we supervise the compliance of federally regulated financial entities, primarily banks, with consumer protection measures set out in legislation, public commitments, and codes of conduct.

Second, FCAC strengthens the financial literacy of Canadians by providing them with information about their rights and responsibilities when dealing with financial institutions. 

We also conduct research and monitor trends and emerging issues that affect financial consumers. 

You will hear more about this work during the Research Spotlight and throughout the event. 

I am sure you have seen the government’s announcement in Budget 2024 about FCAC’s new role in consumer-driven banking. 

As a leader and innovator in financial consumer protection, FCAC is well-placed to take on this new responsibility. 

Our policy and research work has already made an important contribution to the development of the Consumer-Driven Banking Framework. 

It’s in everyone’s best interest that we prioritize innovation and include strong and consistent protection for financial consumers. 

Innovation and protection are complementary.

Striking the right balance between creating an environment that supports innovation while managing risks to households, businesses and the stability of the financial system is no easy task. 

Conversations, like those we will have today, are one of the ways we aim for that balance.  

This approach will serve us well as we embark on consumer-driven banking and other innovations not yet imagined.

It is important to build a shared understanding of where markets are going, underlying risks, and exciting opportunities. 

With that shared understanding, we can navigate innovation in ways that support Canada’s economy while also protecting the financial system and the consumers that depend on it. 

As the future takes shape, it is equally important to recognize our shared responsibility for building a more inclusive, accessible, effective financial ecosystem that benefits all Canadians. 

That’s the vision of the National Financial Literacy Strategy.

The ecosystem, including many of your organizations, has rallied behind the National Strategy and we are making measurable progress towards its goals. 

All of us here today are key players in the financial ecosystem. 

We are also part of the ecosystem that will develop and nurture innovation.  

Our challenge is to innovate in ways that benefit both consumers and industry, while managing risks, and maintaining the stability, integrity and security of the financial system.

My hope is that you will leave today with a clearer picture of the landscape in front of us, and a better understanding of our individual and collective roles in shaping the future.

I also hope you will see that everyone wins when we work together to advance the common goals of a safe, secure and prosperous financial marketplace. 

Thank you.