Canada’s banks have been caught.

Years before regulators finally put numbers to the problem, investigative journalists went undercover and exposed what too many branch customers already suspected: ordinary Canadians walking into bank branches for trusted financial advice were being upsold, misled, steered into expensive products, or given advice that served the bank’s sales targets before the client’s financial security. CBC Marketplace’s hidden-camera reporting showed bank employees recommending inappropriate or too-costly products and giving misleading or wrong information about investments; current and former employees also described intense pressure to meet sales targets.
https://pwlcapital.com/investor-protection-in-canada-still-has-a-long-way-to-go/

Then the regulators confirmed the rot. In July 2025, the Ontario Securities Commission and CIRO released survey results from nearly 3,000 mutual fund dealing representatives at five of Canada’s largest bank-affiliated dealers. One in four representatives said clients had been recommended products or services that were not in their interests at least “sometimes.” Forty per cent said performance scorecards influence recommendations. One in three said clients had been given incorrect information about recommended products or services.
https://www.ciro.ca/newsroom/publications/osc-and-ciro-report-highlights-sales-culture-concerns-canadas-largest-bank-affiliated-dealers

Bank’s Business Model: Customer-Second!

The model is simple: Canadians walk into a bank branch believing they are getting advice. Too often, what they are really getting is a restricted sales channel for the bank’s own products. CARP’s review of the OSC/CIRO findings shows that 94% of branch representatives reported they could only offer bank mutual funds, not third-party mutual funds — even though more than two-thirds agreed that, where comparable third-party funds had similar costs but better performance, offering them would be in the client’s best interest.

Everyone Knows!

The Banks know. The Regulators know. The Government knows. The Financial industry knows.

But Canada’s banks are among the most powerful institutions in the country. They earn billions in profits, dominate the financial marketplace, and maintain deep relationships with political and regulatory power in Canada.

When CARP saw the OSC/CIRO report, we asked the banks to change. We asked the Canadian Bankers Association to show leadership. Their response showed no real appetite to fix the problem.
https://www.carp.ca/2026/01/08/canadian-bankers-association-responds-to-carp-on-osc-ciro-sales-culture-survey-banks-not-interested-in-fixing-mistreatment-of-seniors-at-branches-policy-action-needed/

We asked TD Bank to take the lead, knowing that others would follow if they took action. TD had a chance to show Canadians that they wanted to earn back the trust of their clients. They did not seize the opportunity.

TD Bank pleaded guilty to chronic compliance failures that allowed violent drug gangs and criminal networks to use its branches for laundering.  The U.S. Department of Justice said TD became “the bank of choice” for multiple money-laundering organizations and processed hundreds of millions of dollars in laundering transactions.

CARP held a Seniors’ Day of Action. We asked the regulators to regulate. We asked the provincial government to act. We asked the federal government to act. We asked the Competition Bureau to examine whether ordinary Canadians are being denied real choice in one of the most important financial decisions of their lives.

So far – SILENCE.

Former politicians and senior government insiders routinely move into boardrooms, advisory roles and executive positions within the banking sector, while former banking executives and lobbyists maintain influence in public policy circles. RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, and CIBC each reported multi-billion-dollar profits every year.

That revolving door leaves ordinary Canadians asking a simple question: when everyday Canadians raise concerns about conflicted financial advice, restricted product choice and bank sales culture, who exactly is standing up for them? The banks have armies of lobbyists, lawyers, political connections, and public relations teams protecting a system that generates enormous profits. Seniors have CARP.

Meanwhile, seniors who trusted the same bank for 30, 40, or 50 years are left wondering whether the “advisor” across the desk is really working for them — or for the bank’s quarterly results.

Every dollar lost to conflicted advice, restricted product choice, or underperformance is a dollar a senior may not have for rent, medication, food, home care, or dignity in retirement. CARP has long fought for strong public retirement supports, but those programs were never meant to make up for banks failing the people who trusted them with their life savings.

If Canada’s banks truly acted in the best interests of their branch clients, more seniors would be able to rely on the savings they spent a lifetime building — and fewer would be pushed toward insecurity in the first place.

CARP is calling for action now: require branch-level investment advice to put clients first, end bank-only product restrictions, give ordinary Canadians the same quality of choice offered to wealthier clients, and force full transparency when an “advisor” is really limited to selling the bank’s own products.

CARP in the Media

Investor protection is gaining national attention. Recent coverage from major Canadian media outlets has highlighted growing concerns about investor choice, transparency, and the practices of Canada’s big banks. These stories reinforce CARP’s call for stronger protections to ensure Canadians — especially older investors and retirees — receive fair, transparent advice and access to genuine investment choice.

• Zoomer: It’s not you, it’s your bank
• Mark Mitchell’s Youtube: Canada’s Banks V.S Retirees
• Advisor.ca: Regulators are failing seniors
• The Globe and Mail: Retirement group files complaint with competition watchdog over banks’ sales practices
• The Globe and Mail: Seniors’ association criticizes big banks for ‘predatory’ sales practices
• Yahoo Finance: Canada’s largest seniors’ advocacy group calls out banks for inaction on ‘predatory’ sales practices
• BNN Bloomberg: CARP asks Ontario to ‘protect’ seniors at banks
• Advisor.ca: Bank branch sales culture in a CFR world
• Investment Executive: Bank branch sales culture in a CFR world
• Windsor Star: CARP calls out big banks for inaction on report
• Financial Post: Canada’s largest seniors’ advocacy group calls out banks for inaction on ‘predatory’ sales practices

CARP’s Advocacy Correspondence

Below is CARP’s public running catalogue of our submissions, consultations, and other key documents relevant to this campaign.

• Federal Pre-budget Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance 2026
• Full Response from CBA
• Full Letter CARP Sent to CBA
• Letter to Competition Bureau Regarding the Lack of Competition in Sales Culture of the Banks
• Letter to the Mr.Raymond Chun, CEO of TD Bank Group
• Response to CARP from TD Bank
• Submission for Consultations in Advance of the 2026 Manitoba Budget
• Submission for Consultation in Advance of the 2026 Ontario Budget
• CARP Comments on OSC Statement of Priorities for Fiscal Year 2026-2027
• Briefing Summary – Canadian Banks’ Duty of Care for Senior Investors
• Federal Pre-Budget Submission to the Department of Finance Canada
• Federal Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance

Why might politicians might not want to take action?

Follow the money.