Mark E. White
Mr. White is an accomplished and experienced leader and executive in the regulatory and financial sectors, with a passion for excellence and focused execution and a keen interest in understanding and meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders. With a strong background in regulation, risk management, governance, law, finance, change management and process improvement and oversight, Mr. White is uniquely positioned to drive the modernization and transformation of financial services regulation in Ontario, and to help ensure people in Ontario receive financial services which meet their needs, while balancing private and public sector objectives.
In October 2022, after serving as Vice-Chair, Mark was appointed Chair of the Market Conduct Working Group of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Before joining FSRA in May 2018, Mr. White held a number of senior executive positions at the Bank of Montreal. Most recently, as BMO’s Senior Vice President & Head Enterprise Risk, he had overall enterprise accountability for the design and implementation of the bank's risk management tools, methodologies and frameworks; for oversight of and reporting on the bank's risk management activities; and for governance and oversight of risk management functions, including the identification of top and emerging risks, the development and execution of qualitative and quantitative risk management techniques, the design and implementation of risk management systems and processes, and the provision of effective challenge over operational risks such as event, cyber, information and technology risk. He also served as BMO’s Senior Vice President responsible for strategic and technical leadership on capital adequacy, balance sheet efficiency, regulatory rules and capital issuances, frequently liaising with regulators and rating agencies.
Prior to BMO, Mark served as the Assistant Superintendent, Head of Regulation Sector at Canada’s bank and insurance regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). As a member of the four-person OSFI Executive, he was the leader of a team responsible for OSFI’s approvals, policy-making, policy interpretation, legal services, capital/risk/solvency, research, accounting, pension oversight and actuarial policy functions. He led OSFI’s policy development during the global financial crisis - domestically working with various industry associations and leading companies, and with the Bank of Canada, the federal Ministry of Finance, the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation and securities regulators - and internationally, with various industry groups and regulatory and rule-making bodies. In particular, Mr. White was OSFI’s representative on the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision during the Basel III process and chaired the Basel Committee’s Risk Measurement Group, leading reforms dealing with counterparty credit risk from capital markets instruments and exposures.
After business and law school and gaining experience in accountancy, Mr. White began his career at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in 1987 as a business law lawyer, primarily focused on financial services. In 1992, he became Senior Vice President, Legal Director and Chief Counsel at the AT&T Capital consumer and commercial technology finance business, initially in Canada and later in Europe based in London England, where he led legal teams focused on regulatory compliance and transaction support. In 1997, he moved to Ernst & Young LLP/Donahue Ernst & Young, Barristers and Solicitors, where his practice focused on domestic and international financial services and transactions, and he became an equity partner and a member of the legal practice management committee. In 2001 he joined RBC Capital Markets, where he was Managing Director and Global Head of the Strategic Transactions Group, a successful and innovative structured finance business active in international capital markets and transactions.