The Financial Services Commission of Ontario today announced changes to its organizational structure.

In a letter sent to FSCO stakeholders, Bryan Davies, FSCO CEO and Superintendent of Insurance said that the regulator will focus more on market-conduct regulation and less on prudential regulation, as the market for these services for Ontario institutions “is shrinking due to consolidation of financial institutions, and the work of other regulators such as the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Insititutions, which specialize in that business”.

“We expect that the need for Ontario delivered risk-based prudential regulation will continue to shrink, and that we will be increasingly focusing on risk-based market conduct regulation,” he added. Grant Swanson will continue to lead this division as executive director, supported by a director of market conduct.

The work of FSCO’s Examinations area is being streamlined into two units, Prudential Compliance and Market Conduct Compliance. The new structure will be implemented over the remainder of the year. Anita Sastri will then become the senior manager of Market Conduct Compliance and Chuck Andrews will become the senior manager of Prudential Compliance.

Shonna Neil from FSCO’s Dispute Resolution Division will become acting senior manager, Licensing. She will be supported by two managers, Licensing and Registration Analysis and Licensing and Registration Processing. The Licensing and Compliance Division’s name has been changed to Licensing and Market Conduct Division.

FSCO’s corporate communications responsibilities will be consolidated in the Public Affairs Unit of the Corporate Policy and Public Affairs (CPPA) Branch. In addition to its existing responsibility for external communications with the public, our stakeholders and the media and internal communications, Public Affairs will also assume responsibility for FSCO’s website, intranet and forms.

As well, responsibility for corporate correspondence and initial telephone contact will move from the Ombudsman Services Branch to a new Consumer Services Unit in CPPA. This realignment of
communications functions will further facilitate improved integration and delivery of corporate communication services.

In addition to the management of communications and public affairs CPPA will also continue to provide central co-ordination of FSCO’s policy functions, and management of stakeholder relations and special projects in the renamed Corporate Policy and Issues Management Unit. Martin Ship will continue to lead the Corporate Policy and Public Affairs Branch.

In order to meet one of FSCO’s key priorities to promote a co-ordinated national approach to regulatory issues, the three national secretariats which are supported by FSCO, the Canadian Association of Supervisory Pension Authorities, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators and the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators will move to a Regulatory Co-ordination Branch under the leadership of Nurez Jiwani.

FSCO says this realignment reflects the branch’s increased capacity to plan, develop and deliver inter-jurisdictional leadership for provincial and national regulatory harmonization, and allow FSCO to more effectively participate in regulatory harmonization initiatives.

Internal support for FSCO’s operations will be provided by the Corporate Services Division under the leadership of Linda Della Rocca as executive director, and supported by Isobel Fealdman as director, Strategic and Operational Planning. The CSD will be organized into three functional areas: IT; Staff Services, comprising human resources, quality service, facilities, and administration; and Strategic and Operational Planning which will be responsible for all accounting, finance, planning, business process review and project management services.

“I believe these changes better position FSCO to provide effective and efficient regulatory services and enable us to sustain our commitment to a fair, efficient and effective financial services marketplace,” said Davies.

http://www.fsco.gov.on.ca/FSCO_UW_MainEngine.nsf/0/9b37da5dbe813d6485256ef4005bf18b/$FILE/FSCOReOrg-Aug18-04.pdf