Bank Act (S.C. 1991, c. 46)

Marginal note:Substantial investment in body corporate

• 10 (1) A person has a substantial investment in a body corporate where

  • (a) the voting rights attached to the aggregate of any voting shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person exceed 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all of the outstanding voting shares of the body corporate;

  • (b) the aggregate of any shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person represents ownership of greater than 25 per cent of the shareholders’ equity of the body corporate; or

  • (c) in the case of a body corporate that is a federal credit union,

    • (i) the voting rights of the person and of entities controlled by the person exceed 10 per cent of the aggregate of the voting rights that may be exercised by members and shareholders, or

    • (ii) the aggregate of any shares and membership shares of the federal credit union beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person represents ownership of greater than 25 per cent of the members’ and shareholders’ equity of the federal credit union.

• Marginal note:Increasing substantial investment in body corporate

  (2) A person who has a substantial investment in a body corporate pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) increases that substantial investment when the person or any entity controlled by the person

  • (a) acquires beneficial ownership of additional voting shares of the body corporate in such number as to increase the percentage of voting rights attached to the aggregate of the voting shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person; or

  • (b) acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns any voting shares of the body corporate in such number as to increase the percentage of voting rights attached to the aggregate of the voting shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (3) A person who has a substantial investment in a body corporate pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) increases that substantial investment when the person or any entity controlled by the person

  • (a) acquires beneficial ownership of additional shares of the body corporate in such number as to increase the percentage of the shareholders’ equity of the body corporate represented by the aggregate of the shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person; or

  • (b) acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns any shares of the body corporate in such number as to increase the percentage of the shareholders’ equity of the body corporate represented by the aggregate of the shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person.

• Marginal note:Increasing substantial investment in federal credit unions

  (3.1) A person who has a substantial investment in a federal credit union under subparagraph (1)(c)(i) increases that substantial investment when the percentage of the voting rights of the person and of entities controlled by the person in relation to the aggregate of the voting rights that may be exercised by members and shareholders is increased for any reason.

• Marginal note:Increasing substantial investment in federal credit unions

  (3.2) A person who has a substantial investment in a federal credit union under subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) increases that substantial investment when

  • (a) the person or any entity controlled by the person acquires beneficial ownership of additional shares or membership shares of the federal credit union in such number as to increase the percentage of the members’ and shareholders’ equity of the federal credit union represented by the aggregate of the shares and membership shares beneficially owned by the person and by entities controlled by the person; or

  • (b) the person or any entity controlled by the person acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns shares or membership shares of the federal credit union in such number as to increase the percentage of the members’ and shareholders’ equity of the federal credit union represented by the aggregate of the shares and membership shares beneficially owned by the person and by entities controlled by the person.

• Marginal note:New substantial investment

  (4) For greater certainty,

  • (a) where a person has a substantial investment in a body corporate pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) and the person, or any entity controlled by the person,

    • (i) purchases or otherwise acquires beneficial ownership of shares of the body corporate, or

    • (ii) acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns shares of the body corporate,

    in such number as to cause the shareholders’ equity of the body corporate represented by the aggregate of the shares of the body corporate beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person to exceed 25 per cent of the shareholders’ equity of the body corporate, or

  • (b) where a person has a substantial investment in a body corporate pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) and the person or any entity controlled by the person

    • (i) purchases or otherwise acquires beneficial ownership of voting shares of the body corporate, or

    • (ii) acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns voting shares of the body corporate,

    in such number as to cause the voting rights attached to the aggregate of the voting shares beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person to exceed 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all of the outstanding voting shares of the body corporate,

  the acquisition is deemed to cause the person to increase a substantial investment in the body corporate.

• Marginal note:New substantial investment — federal credit union

  (4.1) For greater certainty,

  • (a) if a person has a substantial investment in a federal credit union under subparagraph (1)(c)(i) and the person, or any entity controlled by the person, purchases or otherwise acquires beneficial ownership of shares or membership shares of the federal credit union or acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns shares or membership shares of the federal credit union, the acquisition is deemed to cause the person to increase a substantial investment in the federal credit union if the percentage of the members’ and shareholders’ equity of the federal credit union represented by the aggregate of the shares and membership shares of the federal credit union beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person exceeds 25 per cent of the members’ and shareholders’ equity of the federal credit union; or

  • (b) if a person has a substantial investment in a federal credit union under subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) and the person or any entity controlled by the person acquires voting rights in the federal credit union — or acquires control of any entity that has voting rights in the federal credit union — in such number that the percentage of the voting rights of the person and entities controlled by the person exceeds 10 per cent of the aggregate of the voting rights of the members and shareholders of the federal credit union, the acquisition is deemed to cause the person to increase a substantial investment in the federal credit union.

• Marginal note:Substantial investment in unincorporated entity

  (5) A person has a substantial investment in an unincorporated entity where the aggregate of any ownership interests, however designated, into which the entity is divided, beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person exceeds 25 per cent of all of the ownership interests into which the entity is divided.

• Marginal note:Increasing substantial investment in unincorporated entities

  (6) A person who has a substantial investment in an unincorporated entity increases that substantial investment when the person or any entity controlled by the person

  • (a) acquires beneficial ownership of additional ownership interests in the unincorporated entity in such number as to increase the percentage of ownership interests in the unincorporated entity beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person; or

  • (b) acquires control of any entity that beneficially owns ownership interests in the unincorporated entity in such number as to increase the percentage of ownership interests beneficially owned by the person and by any entities controlled by the person.

11 [Repealed, 2005, c. 54, s. 3]

Marginal note:WTO Member resident

• 11.1 (1) For the purposes of this Act, a WTO Member resident is

  • (a) a natural person who is ordinarily resident in a country or territory that is a WTO Member, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, other than Canada;

  • (b) a body corporate, association, partnership or other organization that is incorporated, formed or otherwise organized in a country or territory that is a WTO Member, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act, other than Canada, and that is controlled

    • (i) directly or indirectly, by one or more persons referred to in paragraph (a), or

    • (ii) by a government of a WTO Member, whether federal, state or local, or an agency of one of those governments;

  • (c) a trust established by one or more persons referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or a trust in which one or more of those persons have more than 50 per cent of the beneficial interest; or

  • (d) a body corporate, association, partnership or other organization that is controlled, directly or indirectly, by a trust referred to in paragraph (c).

• Marginal note:Interpretation

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1),

  • (a) a body corporate is controlled by one or more persons if

    • (i) securities of the body corporate to which are attached more than 50 per cent of the votes that may be cast to elect directors of the body corporate are beneficially owned by the person or persons, and

    • (ii) the votes attached to those securities are sufficient to elect a majority of the directors of the body corporate;

  • (b) an association, partnership or other organization is controlled by one or more persons if

    • (i) more than 50 per cent of the ownership interests, however designated, into which the association, partnership or other organization is divided are beneficially owned by the person or persons, and

    • (ii) the person or persons are able to direct the business and affairs of the association, partnership or other organization;

  • (c) a body corporate, association, partnership or other organization is controlled by one or more persons if the person or persons have, directly or indirectly, control in fact of the body corporate, association, partnership or other organization; and

  • (d) a body corporate, association, partnership or other organization that controls another body corporate, association, partnership or other organization is deemed to control any body corporate, association, partnership or other organization that is controlled or deemed to be controlled by the other body corporate, association, partnership or other organization.

Marginal note:Exemption from foreign bank status

• 12 (1) The Minister may, by order, and subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister considers appropriate, exempt for the purposes of any provision of this Act any entity from being a foreign bank that, but for that order, would be a foreign bank.

• Marginal note:Revocation of order

  (2) The Minister may, by further order, revoke or vary any order made under subsection (1), and any such revocation or variation shall come into force three months after the date the further order is made, unless the Minister and the entity to which the order relates agree that the revocation or variation should come into force at some other time agreed by them.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (3) Before filing an application for an order referred to in subsection (1), an applicant shall publish a notice of intention to make the application in the Canada Gazette.

Marginal note:Cooperative basis

• 12.1 (1) For the purposes of this Act, a federal credit union is organized and carries on business on a cooperative basis if

  • (a) a majority of its members are natural persons;

  • (b) it provides financial services primarily to its members;

  • (c) membership in the federal credit union is wholly or primarily open, in a non-discriminatory manner, to persons who can use the services of the federal credit union and who are willing and able to accept the responsibilities of membership;

  • (d) each member has only one vote;

  • (e) a delegate has only one vote even though the delegate is a member or represents more than one member;

  • (f) dividends on any membership share are limited to the maximum percentage fixed in the federal credit union’s letters patent or by-laws; and

  • (g) surplus funds arising from the federal credit union’s operations are used

    • (i) to provide for the financial stability of the federal credit union,

    • (ii) to develop its business,

    • (iii) to provide or improve common services to members,

    • (iv) to provide for reserves or dividends on membership shares and shares,

    • (v) for community welfare or the propagation of cooperative enterprises, or

    • (vi) as a distribution to its members as a patronage allocation.

• Marginal note:Restrictions

  (2) Paragraph (1)(c) is subject to any restrictions in the by-laws of the federal credit union on the classes of persons to which membership may be available, as long as the restrictions are consistent with applicable laws with respect to human rights.

Marginal note:Member who is shareholder

12.2 For greater certainty, a member of a federal credit union who is also a shareholder of the federal credit union may exercise the rights given to a shareholder by this Act for all shares held by the member.

Application

Marginal note:Application of Act

13 This Act is the charter of and applies to each bank.

Marginal note:Schedule I and Schedule II banks

• 14 (1) Subject to this Act,

  • (a) there shall be set out in Schedule I

    • (i) the name of every bank named in Schedules I and II as those Schedules read immediately before the day section 184 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act comes into force that was not a subsidiary of a foreign bank,

    • (ii) the name of every bank incorporated or formed under this Act that is not a subsidiary of a foreign bank, and

    • (iii) the province in which the head office of the bank is situated; and

  • (b) there shall be set out in Schedule II

    • (i) the name of every bank named in Schedule II as that Schedule read immediately before the day section 184 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act comes into force that was a subsidiary of a foreign bank,

    • (ii) the name of every bank incorporated or formed under this Act that is a subsidiary of a foreign bank, and

    • (iii) the province in which the head office of the bank is situated.

• Marginal note:Amending the schedules

  (2) Where

  • (a) a bank is incorporated,

  • (b) a body corporate is continued as a bank,

  • (c) one or more bodies corporate are amalgamated as a bank,

  • (d) the name of a bank is changed,

  • (e) the head office of a bank is changed,

  • (f) a bank becomes, or ceases to be, a subsidiary of a foreign bank,

  • (g) a bank is dissolved, or

  • (h) a bank is continued, or amalgamated and continued, as a body corporate to which another Act of Parliament applies,

  Schedules I and II shall be amended accordingly.

• Marginal note:Notice of amendments

  (3) If in any year either Schedule I or II is amended, the Superintendent shall, within sixty days after the end of the year, cause a notice to be published in the Canada Gazette showing Schedule I or II in its complete amended form as at the end of the year.