IIROC extends authority to rule on exemption applications

By James Langton | July 8, 2020 | Last updated on July 8, 2020
1 min read
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Amid the ongoing effects of Covid-19, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) is providing an array of regulatory relief.

In the early days of the pandemic, IIROC’s board approved the provision of temporary relief from regulatory requirements in certain areas to enable firms to cope with the effects of the outbreak, such as the mandate to shift to remote working.

At that time, to speed up the process of providing relief to firms, the self-regulatory organization’s board also granted authority to certain IIROC staff, enabling them to rule on firms’ applications for exemptions.

That authority, which expired at the end of June, has been extended until Oct. 1.

IIROC also reported that, since it announced the availability of temporary relief on March 26, it has received 125 applications for various forms of relief (as of June 30).

A total of 57 dealers of various sizes and business models and across all regions have sought relief, it said.

To date, it has granted 30 waivers from late filing fees, issued 18 exemptions from certain account supervision requirements, and provided 15 exemptions from traditional signature requirements.

Other areas where relief has been provided include audit procedures, trade reviews, margin related rules and client verification requirements.

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James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.