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Good morning. I thank the Committee for this opportunity to take part in its work on financial fraud and scams in Canada.
My name is Anthony Ostler, President and CEO of the Canadian Baners Association. Here with me today is Hartland Elcock, Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at the CBA.
The CBA is the voice of more than 60 domestic and foreign banks operating in Canada and advocates for public policies that contribute to a sound, thriving banking system to ensure Canadians can achieve their financial goals.
Addressing financial crime is a top priority for the CBA. As a Board member of the International Banking Federation (IBFed), I saw first‑hand at our November 2022 meeting in Sydney, how Australia was responding through a growing cross‑sector public‑private approach. Cybercriminals were exploiting the digital connectivity accelerated during the pandemic, stealing from individuals, and laundering proceeds, often supporting organized crime and terrorism.
In 2023, Canada was continuing to see an increase in fraud and scams, while Australia began reducing them through its cross-sector program. By early 2024, it was clear that we should apply those lessons in Canada. Two years ago, the CBA brought together some 50 public and private sector partners—including regulators, financial institutions, telecommunications providers, law enforcement and digital platforms—to create the Canadian Anti‑Scam Coalition. The Coalition coordinates education, awareness and prevention efforts including the development of a national taxonomy, a fraud detection pilot and the ongoing Stand Against Scams campaign. While I am here today as head of the CBA, I also continue to Chair the Coalition’s Steering Committee, now housed in the Canadian Cyber Threat Exchange.
The CBA has also provided comments to Finance Canada in support of a National Anti‑Fraud Strategy. We support a federal cross‑sector approach to strengthen consumer protection and reinforce trust in Canada’s digital economy, starting with the financial services, telecommunications, and digital platform sectors. These sectors intersect across the fraud lifecycle, and the Canadian Anti‑Fraud Centre has found that over 85% of fraud dollar losses can be traced back to telecom or digital channels. Coordinated action across sectors, alongside responsible consumer behavior, is critical to reduce fraud‑related harm to Canadians.
In January 2025, I became Chair of the IBFed and launched a task force to share international best practices on fraud and scams. In March, I led an IBFed delegation to the United Nations Interpol Global Fraud Summit in Vienna. Key outcomes included a Call to Action for countries and a Global Public‑Private Partnership Framework for institutions. Thirty‑seven member states, including Canada, have endorsed the Call to Action, and the CBA, IBFed, governments, digital platforms, NGOs and other organizations—have endorsed the Framework. This international work continues through pilot projects to strengthen fraud protections.
As Australia’s experience and the recent Future of Financial Information Sharing research show, cross‑sector information sharing is essential. Supported by strong governance and privacy‑protective guardrails, this voluntary and conditional information sharing will allow Canada to fight fraud across its full lifecycle.
Public awareness and education are also critical to an effective national anti‑fraud response. They support earlier detection, better decisions, prevention and improved reporting. We encourage the government to further support the Coalition’s multi‑sector Stand Against Scams campaign.
A whole of government strategy can help organizations contribute their expertise, but roles and mandates across the system must be clearly defined. Better coordination among Canadian law enforcement at all levels, and with international partners, will require a clearer, intelligence‑informed operating model. We also believe the Canadian Anti‑Fraud Center should remain Canada’s primary hub for fraud‑reporting and intelligence‑aggregation.
As I have noted, the financial crime environment is evolving quickly and the AML/ATF regime must keep pace. That is why we support the government’s creation of the Finance Crimes Agency (FCA), which promises to help Canada’s fight against complex financial crime. As it develops, the CBA supports the FCA becoming the national operational lead on combatting financial crime, with a coordinating and priority‑setting role to help guide the AML regime’s continued evolution into a more risk‑based, fit‑for‑purpose framework.
In closing, the CBA appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the Committee’s study. Enhancing the AML regime, implementing the Strategy and launching the FCA can reduce financial crime and fraud in Canada. Canada’s banks know firsthand the financial and emotional toll that fraud takes on their clients. Banks invest heavily in fraud prevention, cybersecurity, training and client awareness but no single organization or sector can successfully stem this tide.
If we work together across government and sectors, collaboratively, to solve this threat, together we can protect Canadians, Canadian businesses and the economy.
We look forward to your questions.