Competition Act

Marginal note:Agreements or arrangements of federal financial institutions

• 49 (1) Subject to subsection (2), every federal financial institution that makes an agreement or arrangement with another federal financial institution with respect to

  • (a) the rate of interest on a deposit,

  • (b) the rate of interest or the charges on a loan,

  • (c) the amount or kind of any charge for a service provided to a customer,

  • (d) the amount or kind of a loan to a customer,

  • (e) the kind of service to be provided to a customer, or

  • (f) the person or classes of persons to whom a loan or other service will be made or provided or from whom a loan or other service will be withheld,

  and every director, officer or employee of the federal financial institution who knowingly makes such an agreement or arrangement on behalf of the federal financial institution is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to a fine not exceeding ten million dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.

• Marginal note:Exceptions

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of an agreement or arrangement

  • (a) with respect to a deposit or loan made or payable outside Canada;

  • (b) applicable only in respect of the dealings of or the services rendered between federal financial institutions or by two or more federal financial institutions as regards a customer of each of those federal financial institutions where the customer has knowledge of the agreement or by a federal financial institution as regards a customer thereof, on behalf of that customer’s customers;

  • (c) with respect to a bid for or purchase, sale or underwriting of securities by federal financial institutions or a group including federal financial institutions;

  • (d) with respect to the exchange of statistics and credit information, the development and utilization of systems, forms, methods, procedures and standards, the utilization of common facilities and joint research and development in connection therewith, and the restriction of advertising;

  • (e) with respect to reasonable terms and conditions of participation in guaranteed or insured loan programs authorized pursuant to an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province;

  • (f) with respect to the amount of any charge for a service or with respect to the kind of service provided to a customer outside Canada, payable or performed outside Canada, or payable or performed in Canada on behalf of a person who is outside Canada;

  • (g) with respect to the persons or classes of persons to whom a loan or other service will be made or provided outside Canada;

  • (h) in respect of which the Minister of Finance has certified to the Commissioner that Minister’s request for or approval of the agreement or arrangement for the purposes of financial policy and has certified the names of the parties to the agreement or arrangement; or

  • (i) that is entered into only by financial institutions each of which is an affiliate of each of the others.

• Marginal note:Definition of federal financial institution

  (3) In this section and section 45, federal financial institution means a bank or an authorized foreign bank within the meaning of section 2 of the Bank Act, a company to which the Trust and Loan Companies Act applies or a company or society to which the Insurance Companies Act applies.

• Marginal note:Where proceedings commenced under section 76, 79, 90.1 or 92

  (4) No proceedings may be commenced under this section against a person on the basis of facts that are the same or substantially the same as the facts on the basis of which an order against that person is sought by the Commissioner under section 76, 79, 90.1 or 92.