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Financial Institutions Must Retain Records for at Least Five Years

According to new regulations, financial institutions must retain certain records related to client accounts for at least five years from the date the account was closed. These records include:

Signature Cards

  • Financial institutions must keep a signature card for every person authorized to give instructions on an account.
  • The record can include the person’s handwritten signature or electronic signature created by the person.
  • Electronic signatures can be numeric, character-based, or biometric, as long as they are unique to the person and a record can be kept.

Intended Use of an Account

  • Financial institutions must retain a record of the intended use of each account.
  • This includes information about the type of transactions that will be conducted on the account, such as business or personal transactions.

Applications

  • All applications for credit arrangements must be retained by financial institutions for at least five years from the date the account was closed.

Account Operating Agreements

  • Financial institutions must retain a copy of each account operating agreement.
  • This includes information about the terms and conditions of the account, including interest rates, fees, and other important details.

Debit and Credit Memos

  • All debit and credit memos related to an account must be retained by financial institutions for at least five years from the date the account was closed.

Deposit Slips

  • Financial institutions must retain a record of each deposit slip.
  • This includes information about the type and amount of deposits made into an account.

Account Statements

  • All account statements sent to clients must be retained by financial institutions for at least five years from the date they were created.

Cleared Cheque Records

  • Financial institutions must keep a record of all cleared cheques, including a copy of each cheque.
  • This does not apply to cheques drawn from an account and deposited to an account at the same branch.

Credit Arrangement Records

  • Financial institutions must retain certain information related to credit arrangements, including:
    • The client’s financial capacity
    • The terms of the arrangement
    • The nature of their principal business or occupation
  • All records related to credit card accounts must be retained by financial institutions for at least five years from the date the account was closed.
  • This includes information about:
    • The account holder
    • Authorized persons
    • Credit applications
    • Credit statements
    • Foreign currency exchange transactions
    • VC exchange transactions
    • International EFTs of $1,000 or more
    • Final receipt of international EFTs

Other Account Records

  • Financial institutions must retain other records related to accounts, including:
    • Credit card applications
    • Credit card statements
    • Foreign currency exchange transaction tickets
    • VC exchange transaction tickets
    • Records of the initiation and final receipt of international EFTs of $1,000 or more