@FCACan Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary!

With close to 60 online interactive tools and publications, FCAC is raising awareness of the importance of financial literacy and compliance

OTTAWA, Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Today marks the 10^th anniversary of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). The Agency, established in 2001 to help consumers of financial products and services make better financial decisions and promote compliance of federally regulated financial entities, has achieved growing success in its first 10 years.

"Over the years, FCAC has been able to develop products that meet consumers' needs for financial information. We have also made great progress in the area of compliance," FCAC Commissioner, Ursula Menke, pointed out. "I am very proud of all the members of my team and I would like to thank them for their hard work. The Agency's achievements are, without a doubt, the result of a group effort."

With close to 60 online interactive tools and publications, FCAC provides consumers with information that is both objective and easy to understand. FCAC's other large-scale achievements in consumer education over the past 10 years include:

• developing a financial literacy initiative to help Canadians make more informed decisions
• becoming an official partner of Financial Literacy Month in Canada
• launching The City, a finance-related learning program developed in partnership with the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC)
• launching Financial Basics, a financial learning program for young adults, in collaboration with the Investor Education Fund (IEF) and author and journalist Ellen Roseman
• establishing a research directorate to strengthen our capacity to study new issues and trends that affect consumers
• fully revamping the fcac.gc.ca website to make it more powerful, interactive, accessible and user-friendly
• integrating social media into our website.

FCAC also completed several large-scale projects in the compliance area, including:

• implementing a new platform for assessing the compliance risks faced by financial institutions and payment card network operators, which will be integral to our supervisory work
• investigating complaints related to the compliance of financial entities and working with the organizations concerned to minimize any negative impacts on financial consumers.

"All the work of the past 10 years would certainly not have been achieved were it not for our many partners and resources across the country. Every day, they help us to carry out our initiatives by being in touch with and providing essential support for the community," said the Commissioner. She also said that she was very proud of the financial literacy conferences organized every three years by FCAC and some of its key partners.

"Together, we are building a more financially literate Canada and contributing to a strong, healthy financial sector," she concluded.

For more information on the various activities marking the 10^th anniversary of FCAC, consult the electronic timeline, designed especially for the occasion, on FCAC's website fcac.gc.ca.

About FCAC

With educational materials and interactive tools, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) provides objective information about financial products and services to help Canadians increase their financial knowledge and confidence in managing their personal finances. FCAC informs consumers about their rights and responsibilities when dealing with banks and federally regulated trust, loan and insurance companies. FCAC also makes sure that federally regulated financial institutions, payment card network operators and external complaints bodies comply with legislation and industry commitments intended to protect consumers.

You can reach us through the FCAC Consumer Services Centre by calling toll-free 1-866-461-3222 (TTY: 613-947-7771 or 1-866-914-6097) or by visiting our website: fcac.gc.ca.

FCAC celebrates its 10th anniversary!

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SOURCE Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

Image with caption: "FCAC provides consumers with information that is both objective and easy to understand. (CNW Group/Financial Consumer Agency of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20111024_C6546_PHOTO_EN_5319.jpg

Video with caption: "Video: Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20111024_C6546_VIDEO_EN_5320.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20111024_C6546_PHOTO_EN_5320.jpg&clientName=Financial%20Consumer%20Agency%20of%20Canada&caption=Video%3A%20Today%20marks%20the%2010th%20anniversary%20of%20the%20Financial%20Consumer%20Agency%20of%20Canada%20%28FCAC%29&title=FCAC%20Celebrates%20Its%2010th%20Anniversary%21