CTV featured an interview with Governance Professor Richard Leblanc, where he said, “the first issue is predatory practices which appear to be systemic, the second and more important issue is the consequences of this.”
The short clip provides suggestions on how to avoid potentially predatory sales practices, and the impacts they can have on both the economy, and the individual, “it’s easy to be misled by a banker to think you’re credit worthy, but in fact you may not be and that may lead to dire consequences.”
Leblanc suggests that the bank’s boards of directors approved pay packages and business practices that appear to have provided the incentive for employees to have such aggressive sales tactics to customers. “The banks should really get ahead of this,” said Leblanc. “This is a systemic issue, and a reputational issue and goes to the trust Canadians have in their financial institutions.”
What should consumers do to protect themselves? Be careful, get a second opinion, never sign a document without having read it, have a healthy sense of skepticism, and always ask the counterpoint, the risk.
There is a “huge opportunity for banks to re-establish their reputation, but I predict it won’t happen,” concludes Leblanc. “They’re all sharing the same predatory practices.”