The Reporter provides a monthly summary of Canadian federal legislative and regulatory developments of relevance to federally regulated financial institutions. It does not address Canadian provincial financial services legislative and regulatory developments. In addition, purely technical and administrative changes (such as changes to reporting forms) are not covered.
February 2026
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Published |
Title and Brief Summary |
Status (if applicable) |
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Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) |
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February 26, 2026 |
Targeted Fast-Track Approvals Framework for New Entrants OSFI has published a streamlined, targeted fast-track approvals framework for new entrants. OSFI intends to modernize its approach to how specific entities enter the federally regulated financial system. The framework is expected to launch in June 2026 for eligible applicants; it would be offered to the following entities:
Other types of entities would continue to follow existing guides and processes; OSFI will use insights from this targeted approach to inform a broader rollout in the future. |
Framework expected to launch in June 2026. |
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February 24, 2026 |
Update on Capital Requirements for Federally Regulated Property and Casualty Insurers – Letter OSFI has announced that, effective immediately, it is reducing capital requirements for domestic infrastructure debt. This applies to Canadian property and casualty insurance companies that are not mortgage insurance companies, and foreign property and casualty companies operating in Canada on a branch basis, collectively referred to as property and casualty insurers. The capital reductions are laid out in Appendix 1 to the letter. |
Effective February 24, 2026. |
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February 19, 2026 |
Registered Pension Plans (RPP) and Other Types of Savings Plans – Coverage in Canada (2023) This article shows coverage in Canada by Registered Pension Plans (RPPs) and other savings vehicles that contribute to retirement wealth. Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and First Home Savings Accounts (FHSAs) are included. It concludes that the number of active RPP members has increased since the beginning of the century, with the number of women increasing faster than the number of men. It also shows that the number of active RPP members as a percentage of employees has decreased. The proportion of active RPP members in Defined Benefit plans has seen the steepest decrease. At the same time, tax-incentive vehicles show sustained interest from taxpayers, with TFSAs having become the preferred option over the past decade, capturing a growing share of contributions, while RRSPs have declined. |
Published February 19, 2026. |
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February 13, 2026 |
Benchmarking Canadian Bank Capital Ratios to International Peers – Technical Note – February 2026 OSFI periodically conducts benchmarking exercises of Canadian Systemically Important Banks’ (SIBs) capital and profitability metrics as part of its mandate to assess both the resilience and competitiveness of the Canadian banking system. Conclusions drawn from the exercise include:
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Published February 13, 2025. |
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Bank of Canada |
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February 9, 2026 |
Retail Payments Activities Act: Annual Reporting Now Live on PSP Connect In its email bulletin to stakeholders, the Bank of Canada reminds payment service providers (PSPs) that annual reports under the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) are due by March 31, 2026. It points PSPs to the following resources to assist in the preparation and submission of their annual reports: |
Deadline for submitting annual reports is March 31, 2026. |
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Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) |
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February 25, 2026 |
Beneficial ownership: Understanding your Requirements FINTRAC has issued a video presentation explaining beneficial ownership and providing insight into its role in protecting against money laundering and terrorist financing. This presentation outlines beneficial ownership requirements by defining who qualifies as a beneficial owner, clarifying what constitutes beneficial ownership information, describing how to verify the accuracy of collected information, and specifying when to file a Beneficial Owner Discrepancy Report. |
Published February 25, 2025. |
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February 19, 2026 |
Government Announces New Measures to Help Protect Canadians and Businesses Against Extortion The Government of Canada has announced measures intended to increase its ability to detect, disrupt, and prevent extortion. These measures are meant to improve how financial intelligence is collected, thus providing law enforcement with better tools to trace criminal networks and support investigations. FINTRAC is at the centre of these efforts, which will include:
The announcement is accompanied by the following documents and backgrounders:
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Published February 19, 2026. |
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Payments Canada |
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February 12, 2026 |
Rule Amendments Support Expanded Membership and Access to Critical National Infrastructure Payments Canada has finalized a series of amendments to its rules for the Automated Clearing and Settlement System; these changes are effective February 9, 2026. Payments Canada has grouped these changes under the following themes:
Other rules amended effective February 9, 2026: |
Rule changes are effective February 9, 2026. |
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Bank for International Settlements (BIS) |
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February 26, 2026 |
Basel Committee: Consolidated Guidelines and Sound Practices The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has published a new section of its website containing a consolidated version of its guidelines and sound practices for banks and supervisors. This new format is not intended to introduce new expectations; the content has been reorganized in a modular format in an effort to increase the accessibility of the materials. The Basel Committee has published this initially in draft form, and it is soliciting feedback from stakeholders. |
Comments are due June 26, 2026. |
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Financial Action Task Force (FATF) |
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February 24, 2026 |
FATF has published a paper, Cyber-Enabled Fraud – Digitalisation and Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Proliferation Financing Risks, which outlines the latest emerging risks related to technological innovation and fraud. The paper calls for stronger implementation of global standards to tackle fraud, including through international cooperation and asset recovery, information sharing, and continuing to adapt to the risk environment and international resolve to address the issue. In particular, the paper discusses how the FATF Standards can be used to combat fraud, through:
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Published February 24, 2026. |
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Financial Stability Board (FSB) |
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February 19, 2026 |
Strategic Review of FSB Crisis Preparedness Activities In response to episodes of turmoil and financial crises that have tested FSB’s resolution framework (anchored by its Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions) since it was adopted in 2011, FSB has announced that it is undertaking a strategic review of its crisis preparedness activities. The stated aims of the strategic review are:
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Published February 19, 2026. |
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February 4, 2026 |
Vulnerabilities in Government Bond-backed Repo Markets FSB has issued a report, Vulnerabilities in Government Bond-backed Repo Markets, that explains how repo markets function, outlines key features of repo markets around the world, assesses ways to monitor vulnerabilities and associated data gaps, and concludes with relevant policy implications. The report assesses vulnerabilities in government bond-backed repo markets and possible contagion channels to the broader financial system. It highlights how quickly repo markets were impacted in several recent episodes of market stress and warns that, given the importance of repo markets within the global financial system, it is critical to preserve their functionality, particularly during periods of stress. It identifies vulnerabilities in repo markets that could pose risks to the broader financial system, and suggests several steps for authorities to consider in response to these vulnerabilities; these include:
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Published February 4, 2026. |
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International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) |
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February 12, 2026 |
Application Paper on Operational Resilience Objectives and Toolkit IAIS has published the final version of its Application Paper on operational resilience objectives and toolkit. The Application Paper is intended to support supervisors and insurers in understanding how to assess and address operational resilience in light of the Insurance Core Principles risk management and other relevant requirements. The Application Paper provides operational resilience objectives and provides a toolkit of supporting practices and tools. The key objectives of the Application Paper are:
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Published February 12, 2026. |
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Legislation |
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February 26, 2026 |
Bill C-15, Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 Among its provisions to implement the 2025 Federal Budget, the following measures of Bill C-15 affect federally regulated financial institutions. Division 9 of Part 5 repeals the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and enacts a new Consumer-Driven Banking Act to ensure that individuals and businesses can safely and securely share their data with the participating entities of their choice. That Act addresses, among other things, accreditation, national security, data sharing, security safeguards, consent, authentication, liability, complaints, administration and enforcement and screen scraping. The Division also makes related amendments to the Access to Information Act, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1. Division 10 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to extend the period during which federal financial institutions governed by those Acts may carry on business. Division 11 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to, among other things, modernize prudential limits by repealing certain provisions that impose limits on federally regulated financial institutions with respect to debt obligations and borrowing, consumer and commercial loans and investments in real property and equity. Division 12 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act, the Trust and Loan Companies Act and the Insurance Companies Act to allow for the electronic delivery of certain documents to shareholders, members and policyholders without their consent, while ensuring that they receive paper copies if they request them. Division 13 of Part 5 amends the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Bank Act and the Insurance Companies Act to increase the equity threshold related to the public holding requirement from $2 billion to $4 billion and to make changes to other provisions that include that threshold. (a) clarify the powers of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in respect of the adherence by federally regulated financial institutions to their policies and procedures to protect themselves against threats to their integrity or security; (b) provide the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with powers to issue directions of compliance in respect of unsafe or unsound practices in the conduct of the affairs of those financial institutions; and (c) provide that the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is not prevented from disclosing information to any federal government agency or body for purposes related to the Superintendent’s regulation or supervision of financial institutions. Division 15 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to raise the amount of funds that can be withdrawn immediately from a retail deposit account after the deposit of a cheque or other instrument and to remove the delay for the withdrawal of funds deposited by a cheque or other instrument that is not deposited in person. Division 16 of Part 5 amends the Bank Act to, among other things, (a) prohibit the activation of certain capabilities for a personal deposit account in Canada without the express consent of the natural person in whose name the account is kept; (b) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to deactivate certain account capabilities; (c) permit a natural person in whose name such an account is kept to adjust certain transaction limits on the account; (d) require institutions to establish policies and procedures for detecting and preventing consumer-targeted fraud and mitigating its impacts; and (e) require institutions and the Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada to prepare annual reports on consumer-targeted fraud. Division 17 of Part 5 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act, the Bank Act and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to support the growth of federal credit unions, including by way of amalgamation or asset acquisition and by permitting them to engage in motor vehicle leasing in certain circumstances. Division 18 of Part 5 makes amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act consequential to amendments to the Special Economic Measures Act. Division 37 of Part 5 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to (a) clarify that all regulations made under that Act are to be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance; (b) clarify that paragraph 36(3.01)(b) of that Act applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and (c) prohibit the disclosure of reports, or the information contained in them, related to discrepancies in information discovered in the course of verifying the identity of persons having beneficial ownership or control of an entity. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations to (a) clarify that paragraph 138(5)(b) of those Regulations applies to donations that are not charitable donations; and (b) clarify the application of those Regulations to mortgage administrators, mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders. Division 45 of Part 5 enacts the Stablecoin Act, which imposes duties on persons that create stablecoins and make them available for purchase, directly or indirectly, by persons in Canada. That Act sets out the objects of the Bank of Canada in respect of stablecoin and requires the Bank to maintain a public registry of stablecoin issuers. That Act also addresses, among other things, the redemption of stablecoins by issuers, the reserve of assets that issuers must maintain to fulfill their redemption obligations and the policies that they must establish. The Division also makes consequential and related amendments to the Access to Information Act, the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and the Retail Payment Activities Act. |
First Reading in the Senate February 26, 2026. |
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February 25, 2026 |
Bill C-12, Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act Bill C-12 would enact provisions put forward by Bill C-2, Strong Borders Act that are aimed at combating transnational organized crime, money laundering and the immigration system. Bill C-12 would amend several Acts and regulations impacting financial institutions. Part 9 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to, among other things, (a) Increase the maximum administrative monetary penalties that may be imposed for certain violations and the maximum punishments that may be imposed for certain criminal offences under that Act; (b) Replace the existing optional compliance agreement regime with a new mandatory compliance agreement regime that, among other things, (i) Requires every person or entity that receives an administrative monetary penalty for a prescribed violation to enter into a compliance agreement with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (the Centre), (ii) Requires the Director of the Centre to make a compliance order if the person or entity refuses to enter into a compliance agreement or fails to comply with such an agreement, and (iii) Designates the contravention of a compliance order as a new violation under that Act; (c) Require persons or entities referred to in section 5 of that Act, other than those already required to register, to enroll with the Centre; and (d) Authorize the Centre to disclose certain information to the Commissioner of Canada Elections, subject to certain conditions. Part 9 also makes consequential and related amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act and the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations and includes transitional provisions. Part 10 amends the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to make the Director of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada a member of the committee established under subsection 18(1) of that Act. It also amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to enable the Director to exchange information with the other members of that committee. |
Second Reading in the Senate February 5, 2026; reported without amendment by Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs February 25, 2026. |
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February 26, 2026 |
Bill S-6, Federal Law–Civil Law Harmonization Act, No. 4 Bill S-6 is the fourth in a series of enactments drafted in the course of the harmonization of federal statutes by the Department of Justice of Canada resulting from the coming into force of the Civil Code of Québec in 1994. Among the Acts amended by Bill S-6 are Acts governing financial institutions: the Bank Act, the Cooperative Credit Associations Act, the Insurance Companies Act and the Trust and Loan Companies Act. The amendments are made in order to ensure that each language version takes into account the common law and the civil law. |
First Reading February 26, 2026. |
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February 10, 2026 |
Bill C-13 implements the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, done July 16, 2023. It includes consequential amendments to the definition of “regulated foreign entity” in sections 2 of the Bank Act, Insurance Companies Act and Trust and Loan Companies Act respectively. |
Reported with amendments by House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade February 10, 2026. Act comes into force by proclamation. |
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Disclaimer
This Reporter is prepared as a service for our clients. It is not intended to be a complete statement of the law or an opinion on any subject. Although we endeavour to ensure its accuracy, no one should act upon it without a thorough examination of the law after the facts of a specific situation are considered.
