Blakes is recognized as having Canada's pre-eminent financial services practice, including the largest financial services regulatory practice in Canada. Leading financial institutions, mortgage lenders, administrators and brokers, loan originators and buyers, consumer finance companies, and parties involved in mortgage securitization programs retain us for guidance in respect of their residential mortgage businesses.
We advise them on:
Documents and procedures for residential mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), insurance-backed mortgage requirements, mortgage prepayment rules, insurance and underwriting practices and procedures, as well as portfolio acquisitions, management and sales, mortgage-backed securities and a host of other matters related to residential mortgages
Consumer credit, data protection and security, privacy, disclosure and consent requirements, language requirements, consumer protection, e-commerce, and anti-money laundering issues
Regulatory restrictions impacting their consumer mortgage products, marketing and advertising campaigns, and their business operations, commercial contracts and growth strategies
Policies and processes to assure compliance with laws, regulations and codes of conduct, and compliance in connection with developing and modernizing their residential mortgage products and practices
Federal-provincial jurisdictional issues and the complex issues associated with dual regulation of this business
Client interactions with regulatory agencies and industry associations, including the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and applicable provincial regulators
