Searching for a Vision: Financial Services in Flux

The financial services sector is evolving at a rapid pace. The announcement of the bank merger proposals and the MacKay Report have put developments such as mergers in the public eye, but change continues to take place at all levels.

Document Highlights

The Task Force has pushed the envelope of government priority-setting, recommending a system of detailed oversight of business decisions by parliamentary committees.

This report examines the recommendations of the MacKay Report and suggests an alternative vision which would:

• recognize that the financial services sector is undergoing rapid change and would seek to benefit from the change;
• reduce the burden of non-business obligations to a reasonable minimum and seek alternative techniques for pursuing objectives such as a small business lending and general access; and
• recognize that a rapidly changing industry cannot move at the pace of the legislative process and would minimize government oversight to what is necessary to ensure that the sector serves Canadians adequately.