OSFI eases capital constraints, reporting for banks and insurers

Federal financial regulators are continuing to loosen the capital reins on banks and insurers in an effort to facilitate greater flexibility for the financial sector.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said Thursday that it’s easing capital constraints and relaxing reporting requirements for federally regulated banks and insurers.

Among other things, OSFI is providing banks with temporary exemptions from the leverage ratio requirements, easing the capital rules for credit risk, and providing further guidance on certain rules.

For insurers, it declared that firms that grant temporary payment deferrals due to Covid-19 won’t face increased capital requirements on those financings or on deferred premiums.

Additionally, the regulator will delay the implementation of new reporting requirements.

On a case-by-case basis, OSFI will grant extensions to firms with trouble meeting existing reporting deadlines, and won’t charge late filing fees on overdue reports.

The changes will ensure financial institutions “can continue to respond to this unprecedented economic disruption while remaining well capitalized and resilient,” said Jeremy Rudin, OSFI’s superintendent, in a statement.

OSFI said that it is continuing to adjust its expectations for the various sectors it oversees “to provide flexibility and clarity so that they can effectively respond to current challenges.”

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.