OSFI at a Glance
- OSFI was established in 1987 to contribute to public confidence in the Canadian financial system. It is an independent agency of the Government of Canada and reports to the Minister of Finance.
- The financial services sector represents 6% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, employs over 600,000 Canadians and pays $13 billion in taxes. A properly functioning, efficient financial services sector is essential to Canada’s economy.
- OSFI supervises and regulates over 450 banks and insurers, and some 1300 federally registered private pension plans. As at March 31, 2006, these organizations managed a total of $2,875 billion of assets.
- The Office of the Chief Actuary, which is part of OSFI, provides actuarial services for the Canada Pension Plan, the Old Age Security program, the Canada Student Loans Program and other public sector pension and benefit plans.
- OSFI recovers all of its costs. OSFI is funded mainly through asset-based, premium-based or membership-based assessments on the financial services industry and a user-pay program for selected services. A small portion of OSFI’s revenue is derived from the Government of Canada for actuarial services relating to various public sector pension and benefit plans.
- The International Advisory Group within OSFI assists selected emerging market economies in enhancing their supervisory system, through training programs or hands-on technical advice. Funding is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency.
- OSFI employs some 435 people in offices located in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver.
