ID
2025-001

Type
Policy, Rules
Sector
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires
Status
Public comment closed
Date
Comment Due Date

Unclaimed Deposits Update – June 2025

FSRA is pausing the development of the Unclaimed Deposits Rule and accompanying Guidance as of June 12, 2025.

Given the significant global economic uncertainty and volatility, this decision was made to help ensure the Ontario credit union sector continues focusing on its day-to-day business activities.

FSRA will continue to monitor the environment and will determine if and/or when to resume this important policy initiative.

To better protect credit union members, FSRA, Ontario’s financial services regulator, is proposing an Unclaimed Deposits Rule and accompanying guidance for a second consultation.

The Rule will require credit unions to transfer unclaimed deposits to FSRA after the account has been inactive for 10 years.

To access an unclaimed deposit, a credit union member, beneficiary, or estate will need to file a claim with FSRA and provide evidence of their right to the deposit. The proposed Rule outlines requirements for credit unions and those claiming entitlement.

The proposed Rule and accompanying Guidance are being posted for a second consultation for 30 days, which will close on February 10, 2025.

Learn more:

Sector Comment Date posted
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires
[2025-001] Nicholas Nestico - Libro Credit Union
Please see attached Libro Credit Union's response to FSRA's second consultation on the Proposed Unclaimed Deposits Rule and Accompanying Guidance. We look forward to continued dialogue and collaboration with FSRA on this file.
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires
[2025-001] Brent Furtney - Canadian Credit Union Association
Please find attached CCUA's formal response. Thank you.
[2025-001] Consumer Advisory Panel to The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) - Consumer Advisory Panel to The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA)
The Consumer Advisory Panel had the opportunity to participate in this consultation. The Panels official submission provided in the attached document.
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires
[2025-001] Jon Dessau - Kingston Community Credit Union
Sector Question and response
Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires

Question: Is there a specific account type the unclaimed deposit refers to? For example, the chequing account is active, but the savings account has been dormant for over 10 years. Do we need to transfer the savings account to FSRA?

FSRA response:

In accordance with section 1(3) of the proposed Unclaimed Deposits (UD) Rule and section 147(1) of the Credit Union and Caisses Populaires Act, 2020, FSRA interprets unclaimed deposits to include money   in any non-registered investment or deposit account  offered by a credit union. This includes but is not limited to balances in chequing accounts, savings accounts and investment accounts holding term deposits. Money deposited with a credit union under federal or provincial registered accounts are excluded from the scope of the proposed UD Rule. For more details on which types of instruments that FSRA may interpret as a deposit under scope of the UD Rule, please refer to the proposed accompanying Guidance (section 1: Meaning of Deposits, section 1: Deposits Excluded from the UD Rule, and section 2: Account).

When determining whether an account is inactive,    the credit union must consider the depositor’s entire profile, which may include multiple distinct accounts and investment vehicles, as outlined in section 2(1)(i)(a) of the proposed UD Rule. Therefore, if a depositor with multiple accounts has a savings account that would normally be considered inactive   but regularly uses their chequing account, the savings account would not be considered inactive for the purposes of the UD Rule  . In other words, an account is considered inactive only when all of the members’ accounts would be deemed inactive as defined in the UD Rule. Therefore, in the situation outlined in the question, the credit union would not need to transfer the money deposited in the savings account. For more information on depositor profiles with multiple accounts, please refer to the proposed accompanying Guidance (section 2: Multiple Accounts).