Transaction instructions

Financial institutions need to apply for regulatory approval under federal acts that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is responsible for. To make our process as transparent as possible and improve our assessment times, we’ve created transaction instructions. They supply applicants with:

what information we need to assess your application
what we look for in applications

If you provide all the information and material we request, you can expect a more timely assessment of your application. We may request more information, if needed.

Incorporation and continuance guides

For more detailed instructions for incorporation or continuance, please refer to the following guides:

List of transaction instructions

Type of transaction	Legislative authorities	Deemed approval/Not subject to deemed approval
Extension of holding period for a temporary investment	subsections 471(1), (2), (3) or (5) and 933(1), (2) or (4) of the Bank Act (BA) subsections 456(1), (2), (3) or (5) of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) subsections 498(1), (2), (3) or (5), 557(1), (2), or (3) and 974(1), (2) or (4) of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA) subsections 393(1), (2), (3) or (5) of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Deemed approval
Extension of holding period of temporary investments - minister’s approval	subsections 471(4) and 933(3) of the Bank Act subsection 456(4) of the Trust and Loan Companies Act subsections 498(4), 557(4) and 974(3) of the Insurance Companies Act subsection 393(4) of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act	Non deemed approval
Extension of the holding period of a temporary investment of a foreign bank or an entity associated with a foreign bank	subsections 522.14(2) and 522.14(3) and paragraph 522.14(4)(a) of the Bank Act	Non deemed approval
Giving up control in fact* of an entity while maintaining another type of control	Subsections 468(10) and 930(10) of the Bank Act (BA) Subsection 453(9) of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) Subsections 495(11) and 971(9) of Insurance Companies Act (ICA) Subsection 390(9) of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Non deemed approval
Giving up control of an entity while retaining a substantial investment	Subsections 468(11) and 930(11) of the Bank Act Subsection 453(10) of the Trust and Loan Companies Act Subsections 495(12) and 971(10) of the Insurance Companies Act Subsection 390(10) of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act	Deemed approval
Issuance of Shares or Membership Shares in Consideration of Property	Sections 65, 79.1 and 709 of the Bank Act (BA) Section 68 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) Sections 69 and 748 of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA) Section 74 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Deemed approval
Issuance of subordinated debt in consideration of property	sections 80 and 723 of the Bank Act section 83 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act sections 84 and 762 of the Insurance Companies Act section 87 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act	Deemed approval
Materiality criteria for an RE or its subsidiaries to hold shares or ownership interests in a FRE or a FRE’s controlling entity	sections 72 and 716 of the Bank Act section 75 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act sections 76 and 755 of the Insurance Companies Act section 80 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act	Deemed approval
Name reservation	Sections 43 and 697 of the Bank Act (BA) Section 45 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) Sections 45 and 734 of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA) Section 39 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Acquisition of control of a provincially regulated financial institution or other financial intermediary	Paragraph 522.22(1)(a) or (b) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Acquisition of control of, or a substantial investment in, a limited commercial entity	Section 522.09 and paragraph 522.22(1)(g) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Acquisition of control of, or a substantial investment in, a non-financial services entity	Paragraph 522.22(1)(c), (d), (d.1) or (e) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Establishment of a branch of a cooperative credit society, securities dealer or investment counselling and portfolio management service provider	Section 522.18 and paragraph 522.22(1)(f) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Establishment of a limited commercial branch	Section 522.19 and paragraph 522.22(1)(h) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Part XII: Establishment, maintenance or acquisition for use in Canada of automated banking machines	Paragraph 522.22(1)(i) of the Bank Act (the “Act”).	Non deemed approval
Purchase or redemption of shares or membership shares	Sections 71 and 715 of the Bank Act (BA) Section 74 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) Sections 75 and 754 of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA) Section 79 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Deemed approval
Rectification of non-compliance regarding appointment of board of directors	sections 170 and 758 of the Bank Act section 174 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act sections 178 and 805 of the Insurance Companies Act section 177 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act	Deemed approval
Reduction of Stated Capital	Sections 75 and 718 of the Bank Act (BA) Section 78 of the Trust and Loan Companies Act (TLCA) Sections 79 and 757 of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA) Section 82 of the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (CCAA)	Deemed approval
Reinsurance on an assumption basis (“assumption reinsurance”)	Sections 254 and 587.1 of the Insurance Companies Act (“ICA”)	Non deemed approval
Reinsurance with a Related Party	Sections 523 and 597 of the Insurance Companies Act (ICA)	Deemed approval

Date modified:: 2024-01-18