Our budget is set by our Board annually. In Canada, and around the world, regulators and ombudsman offices in financial services are typically funded by the industries they cover, as opposed to the general taxpayer. The 2015 OBSI total budget is $9,688,323.
Fees for all of OBSI’s participating firms are assigned based on the “collective funding” model, developed with stakeholders that created OBSI’s predecessor organization back in 1996. In adopting such a funding model OBSI was assured a certain stability of funding, which is required as our organization is a not-for-profit with various fixed costs. Participating firms consequently benefit from cost predictability.
In determining the fees paid by participating firms, the OBSI total budget is allocated between the banking services division and the investments division. The banking services division investigates banking-related complaints involving federally and non-federally regulated financial institutions, including some provincially regulated credit unions. The investments division investigates investment-related complaints from investment firms. OBSI is committed to the principle that no sector or registrant category subsidizes another. Banks do not subsidize the investment sector, and vice versa. Our financial auditor annually reviews our allocation calculations to ensure a consistent and reasonable allocation to each sector and that there is no cross-subsidization.
As an approved External Complaints Body (ECB), OBSI is required to provide certain disclosures regarding federally regulated financial institutions in its banking division.
A list participating firms can be found here.
A copy of the most-recent audited financial statements can be founded in the Financials section.