A survey released today suggests that Canadians are wary of removing restrictions on bank expansion into the area of marketing and selling life and health insurance from bank branches.

According to the survey, released by Advocis, The Financial Advisors Association of Canada, consumers said that they neither need nor want bank growth into an area, noting that they have serious concerns over the power banks could have if the current restrictions on life and health insurance networking are removed.

“The results were most telling on the issue of privacy,” noted Steve Howard, Advocis president and CEO, in a release. Ninety-one per cent of respondents indicated that they believe banks already have enough, or more than enough, personal information about them.

“In particular they are concerned about health information in an insurance application being kept separate from banking information,” Howard said.

“Consumers are uncomfortable with the prospect of having too much personal information in one place,” he added.

The survey results indicate that one in five Canadians who have been approved for a bank loan, mortgage or line of credit report feeling pressured to give the bank more business.

According to Advocis, the survey reveals that the vast majority of Canadians do not know about protections against coercive tied selling, even though the practice is illegal under the Bank Act.

“To make matters worse”, said Gary McLeod, chairman of the Advocis Board of Directors, “while the banks claim they have easy and accessible ways of resolving customer disputes, the survey tells us that among the general population an astounding one in three Canadians, and more than half of all Canadians 65 or older, either don’t know about their banks’ complaint resolution process or believe one does not exist.”

The survey was conducted for Advocis by POLLARA Inc.