An article with this title was published in the March 20th Edition of the Globe and Mail. The reporter, Rob Carrick wrote about how the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada outlined in a report issued in mid-March that the Big Six banks are sharply focused on selling products and services, and that there are insufficient controls in place to protect clients from aggressive sales practices.
He further wrote that the report highlighted that savvy consumers are a minority and that most people don’t understand that bankers are salespeople and that banks exploit the loyalty of consumers by encouraging and pressuring their employees to rack up sales.
The full report goes on to recommend a number of steps that need to be taken to protect consumers but Rob Carrick suggest consumers take a course in bank literacy and suggested the curriculum might look like this:
- Banks are vendors of financial products, not advisors;
- The products a bank urges you to buy may not be suitable for your needs;
- Banks work primarily for their shareholders, not their customers;
- For every product a bank sells, there is almost certainly a cheaper, more customer-friendly alternative available from an independent competitor.
At Ming & Associates we tend to agree with Mr. Carrick on this one and as we have stated for over 20 years we firmly believe that independent financial advice provides the best value for Canadians now and into the future. If you would like us to send you a link to the full article just touch base via email or give us a call.
