On September 24, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) published for comment 22 proposed service standards (Standards) for its operations. They include, among other things, performance targets for handling individual applications for mortgage broker licenses. For example, FSRA aims to issue individual licenses within 10 days of receipt of a complete application, where payment has been made and there are no suitability issues, at least 80% of the time.

The proposed Standards also outline timelines for handling complaints. Among other things, FSRA aims to assess and “action” at least 80% of complaints within 120 days and at least 95% of complaints within 270 days of receiving a complain containing all relevant information. In this context, “action” means a range of possible outcomes including escalation to other areas of FSRA, transfer of the complaint to a third-party dispute organization, the issuance of a warning or caution letter, or closure of the complaint with no action.

The deadline for comments on the proposed Standards is October 23, 2020.

September 30, 2020