Canadian Regulator Refutes Claims That CIBC Upsold Customers

In the financial world, there is a lot taking place which should not be happening. Although that sounds rather controversial, a recent statement by a financial adviser for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce certainly indicates that some things have taken place which are not necessarily right. For some reason, a federal investigation failed to turn up any evidence regarding those claims.

What is Going on With CIBC?

It is always interesting to read reports by banking industry insiders. In a lot of cases, they will gladly talk about how their companies are doing extremely well. In the case of CIBC, it seems there are a fair few things happening behind the scenes which may end up hurting customers in the long run.

According to a CIBC source, there are widespread instances of customers who were upsold due to pressure on employees to meet sales targets. It is a well-known fact that banks are slowly trying to turn the ship around in terms of improving their sales numbers. That is not necessarily a good thing, even though banks offer a lot of useful products.

However, a recent investigation by Canada’s banking regulator did not find any major evidence regarding such developments. More specifically, the investigation found no real issues worth reporting on, which baffled the CIBC source and her colleagues. All of this raises the question as to what is going on behind the scenes at this bank.

While many people rejoiced at the news of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada investigating the country’s major six banks, the published report notes nothing out of the ordinary. That’s rather surprising, considering that the investigation came to be due to a growing number of media investigations conducted throughout 2017. Those investigations all confirmed that bank employees face immense pressure to sell products and services which people may not necessarily need.

That being said, such sales are – according to the published report – not the biggest concern in the industry right now. This is despite receiving over 4,500 complaints pertaining to the six major Canadian banks, which raises a lot of questions. When bank employees themselves grow concerned over what they are doing on a daily basis, a more thorough investigation appears more than warranted.

Whether or not the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada will revisit this topic in the near future is a bit unclear. It is evident the banking sector is undergoing some changes which may not always benefit consumers in the long run. However, until investigations find actual evidence of ongoing wrongdoings, there is apparently very little for banks to worry about.