Discussions

That word is bank. The rule will also i:nclude banking and banker. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions wants to prohibit credit unions from using any of these words that refer to bank. The use of which will be subject to criminal charges.  
 
Gee. I wonder who is pushing the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to this stupidity? Big Banks, maybe?

If I am not banking there, what am I doing?? Maybe the credit unions need to invent a new word.  
 
"Yah Jim, I am just heading to the creditunion to do my flirkling."  
"Oh man, wish I could flirkle, but I am part of a bank".

There are some words or phrases that are considered public domain, which means that they cannot be monopolized, likely figure that bank, banker and banking would fall under public domain.  
Would love to be a judge that would have to rule on a law regaurding who can use the word bank, makes me think that if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's likely a duck.

As each credit union slowly merge with others I have found that their lending rules also are slowly becoming the same as banks anyways so they may as well all agree on what to go by and be done!

it's because the credit unions don't pull in the massive profits that the 'banks' do? lol  
 
I bank at a credit union and always will.

We just talked about this at the lunch table at work recently. I never knew the different between them. But a coworker is paying nearly double for his monthly transactions from ther credit union then I am at TD. so I don't know if they are really worth it.

So where will I be fishing from?

Feel bad now for the food banks everywhere in Canada...  
 
Edited by Kellye, 2017-07-09 10:23:44

Perhaps it is because the word "Bank" has a particular legal meaning in the financial services industry. In order to be a Chartered Bank, the institution must have a charter under the Bank Act, and must follow particular rules under that act.  
 
Credit Unions are not federally regulated under the Bank Act, but are instead provincially regulated. They cannot be called banks because they ARE NOT banks.  
 
I don't think any food banks will get in trouble unless they start offering financial services.  
 
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Think of it this way. You can offer someone legal advice, but you cannot just start calling yourself a lawyer. You can offer financial advice, but you cannot just start calling yourself an accountant. Same thing here, credit unions offer financial services, but because they are not chartered with the federal government under the Bank Act, they can't offer "Banking".

Not all Credit Unions are the same. We switched from one to Credit Union to another and out fees dropped to about 1/2

don brown said "There are some words or phrases that are considered public domain, which means that they cannot be monopolized, likely figure that bank, banker and banking would fall under public domain.   Would love to be a judge that would have to rule on a law regaurding who can use the word bank, makes me think that if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's likely a duck. "

Could be a mallard though