Seniors Code and report from the Seniors Champion.
The Code of Conduct for the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors (the Code) was established in July 2019. We’ve adopted this Code, which has 7 guiding principles for Canadian banks to help us better serve customers aged 60 and up.
Products exclusively for you.
60+ Advantage.
If you’re 60 years old or more, we offer discounted bank account fees to meet your needs.
The 65+ Plan.
When your age goes up, fees should go down. If you’re 65 years and up, get a free banking plan when you make 4 transactions per month.
7 principles of the Code.
The Seniors Code requires that banks designate a Seniors Champion. The Seniors Champion is responsible for providing leadership in applying the Code as well as promoting and raising awareness of matters that affect older customers. Banks must also publish a yearly report on the steps taken to support each principle of the Code and improve the delivery of banking services to seniors.
You can find the principles and more details in the Canadian Bankers Association’s
Code of Conduct for the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors (PDF, 321 KB).
Establish and implement appropriate policies, procedures and processes to support the Code.
Communicate effectively with older customers.
Provide appropriate training to employees who serve older customers aged 60 and up.
Make appropriate resources available to customer-facing employees to help them better understand the banking needs of older adults.
Aim to lessen potential financial harm to older customers.
Take into account market demographics and the needs of older customers when closing branches.
Publicly disclose the steps taken to support the principles set out in the Code.
Applying the Seniors Code at Laurentian Bank.
Cultivating a “customer-first” culture is at the centre of everything we do. We believe that enhancing and simplifying our customer experience is key to meeting the needs of all our customers. We also focus on educating our customers so that they can make smart and sound financial decisions.
To fulfill the Code, we’ve applied the following measures:
Appointed a Seniors Champion who actively participates in carrying out the Code. An internal reporting process simplifies how we share potential abuse, financial mistreatment, or fraud cases to the Seniors Champion, who ensures rapid support to all team members. This specialized support service team is continuously trained on new developments and best practices in this area. As of October 31, 2023, the Seniors Champion has intervened in 59 cases of potential harm to our older customers. Knowing that our older customers need more and more support to prevent cases of financial mistreatment, abuse or fraud, Laurentian Bank has set up a multidisciplinary committee to discuss cases and take concrete actions. This committee meets once a month and is represented by team members from Legal, Fraud, Compliance and front-line employees. In 2023, the committee has held 10 meetings to discuss cases submitted to the Seniors Champion, enabling Laurentian Bank to be proactive with our older customers, take steps to raise awareness and react promptly to all situations of elder abuse.
Published procedures for team members, front-line representatives and specialized units so they can identify and escalate potential cases of financial abuse to the Seniors Champion. All procedures are available in a centralized repository of information for employees. These procedures describe:
The main signs to quickly identify cases of financial mistreatment, abuse or fraud;
The steps to deal with these types of cases; and
The steps to report all potential cases of abuse to the Seniors Champion.
An annual review of these procedures lets us make sure that we always comply with the principles of the Code.
To ensure information is easy to access and understand, we created a dedicated page for older customers and updated our Problem Resolution brochure to include the Seniors Champion as an option to escalate an issue. This dedicated webpage describes all products and services offered to Seniors, such as The 65+ Plan, The Preferred account 60+ Advantage or The Unlimited account 60+ Advantage. We also describe the lending facilities we offer to this type of customer, such as Retirement line of credit or Equity line of credit insurance. Finally, the webpage provides important information about RRIFs and other investment products. Senior customers can also access tutorials on our electronic services or useful links to get access to our LBCDirect Services. Seniors can also communicate directly with the Bank or the Seniors Champion from this page if specific needs arise, such as access to certain documents in specific formats. Visit the Seniors policy page.
Understanding the unique needs of our older customers, our branches offer confidential spaces to meet with our advisors and receive extra support in using our digital services. Older customers can also request support at any time for all ATM transactions in our branch network.
All team members have received training to ensure they are best equipped to serve our older customers. The employee training covers the following topics:
Identifying signs of potential financial abuse or financial mistreatment;
Steps to take when dealing with older customers who are victims of abuse or mistreatment;
How to report a case of potential harm or abuse;
Types of fraud; and
Best practices when working with older customers.
The initial training deployed when the Code first came into force must be taken by all new employees who join the Bank. Additional training for our front-line employees is also carried out on an annual basis.
Our continued promise.
We recognize the vital contribution of older adults to our society. In respecting their needs, we’ll strive to continue improving how we deliver banking services to our older customers.