Frequently Asked Questions

The Board of Directors must ensure that the Bank is managed competently. The Board is responsible for reviewing the Bank's general policies on matters other than monetary policy and for approving the Bank's corporate objectives, plans and annual budget. The Board of Directors includes the Governor, the Senior Deputy Governor, twelve outside directors and the Deputy Minister of Finance (who has no vote). Monetary policy is neither formulated nor implemented by the outside directors. In this area, the directors' job is to keep the Bank informed about prevailing economic conditions in their respective regions.

The directors are also responsible for appointing the Governor and Senior Deputy Governor.

The Governor is appointed for a fixed term of seven years.

If a profound disagreement on the conduct of monetary policy were to occur, the Minister of Finance, with the Cabinet's authorization, can issue a written directive to the Governor specifying a change in policy. No directive has ever been issued.

The inflation-control target — one of the two cornerstones of Canada's monetary policy — is set jointly by the Bank and federal government. However, the day-to-day administration of monetary policy is the responsibility of the Bank's Governing Council, composed of the Governor, Senior Deputy Governor, and Deputy Governors.

The Bank of Canada Act requires regular consultations between the Governor and the Minister of Finance on the direction of monetary policy. If a profound disagreement were to occur between the Bank and the government, the Minister of Finance could issue a written directive to the Governor specifying a change in policy. This would most likely result in the Governor's resignation. However, such a directive has never been issued.

Monetary policy refers to the measures taken by the Bank of Canada to influence the economy by regulating the amount of money in circulation.

Fiscal policy (budgetary policy) refers to the measures taken by the government to increase or decrease public spending and taxes.

Because doing so would reduce the value of our money, raise interest rates, and undermine the growth of the economy — the exact opposite of our goals.

If the Bank were to print money to repay the national debt or to finance government programs, it would be adding greatly to the amount of money in circulation. This would encourage people to spend and borrow more, and the economy would receive a temporary boost. But overall demand for goods and services would grow faster than the economy's ability to produce, and this would inevitably lead to higher inflation.

The Bank has refined the way it conducts monetary policy over the years. In 1994, it established an operating band for the overnight rate, and in 1996 it changed the way it sets the Bank Rate.

The Bank Rate is now set at the top of the operating band. It is always one-quarter of a percentage point above the target for the overnight rate, which is at the middle of the band. The Bank Rate is also the rate at which the Bank will lend money overnight to the financial institutions that take part in Canada's most important payments system, the Large Value Transfer System.

The bottom of the operating band is the interest rate the Bank pays on deposits that financial institutions have with us.

The Bank always changes the target for the overnight rate, the operating band, and the Bank Rate at the same time, and by the same amount (see diagram below.)

The target is the appropriate rate to use when comparing the levels of interest rates with those of other countries. It corresponds directly to the U.S. Federal Reserve's "target for the federal funds rate," the Bank of England's two-week "repo rate," and the minimum bid rate for refinancing operations (the repo rate) at the European Central Bank.

Related information
Fact Sheets:

• Target for the Overnight Rate
• Large Value Transfer System
• The Bank Rate

Quantitative easing is the purchase by a central bank of financial assets through creation of central bank reserves. As a result, the price of the purchased assets (which can include government securities or private assets) rises and the yield on the assets falls. The expansion of reserves available to commercial banks also encourages them to increase the supply of credit to households and businesses.

In economic terminology, quantitative easing uses 'unsterilized' funding; in other words, the reserves of the central bank are increased to finance asset purchases.

Credit easing is the targeted purchase by a central bank of private sector assets in certain credit markets which are important to the functioning of the financial system. The goal of credit easing is to reduce risk premiums and improve liquidity and trading activity in specific markets so that credit will flow and demand in the economy will expand.

Credit easing can be done on a 'sterilized' basis; in other words, there is no need to increase central bank reserves in order to undertake credit easing. If undertaken on an unsterilized basis, this amounts to combining credit easing with quantitative easing.

The Privacy Act permits the disclosure of personal information when an Act of Parliament so authorizes.

Up until the end of 2007 the Bank Act authorized the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to publish (in the Canada Gazette, available at most libraries) information about all unclaimed balances of $100 or more, once they have been inactive for nine years. This information includes the creditor's name, last known address, and balance amount. The purpose is to help people locate balances that may be owed them.

If still unclaimed by the end of the tenth year, these balances are then given to the custody of the Bank of Canada, which in turn assumes responsibility for publishing the above information.

Unclaimed bank balances held at the Bank of Canada are exclusively Canadian-dollar deposits in, and negotiable instruments issued by, Canadian banks at locations in Canada.

They can be in the form of deposit accounts, bank drafts, certified cheques, deposit receipts, money orders, or traveller's cheques.

Unclaimed bank balances are maintained by the Bank of Canada, which acts as custodian on behalf of the owner, when there has been no owner activity in relation to the account for a period of 10 years and when the owner cannot be contacted by the Canadian bank holding that asset. What is not included in the Bank of Canada's unclaimed balances:

• Accounts in U.S. dollars and non-Canadian currencies
• RRSP accounts
• Life insurance policies
• Credit union accounts
• Unclaimed balances at utilities and other companies
• Gold or silver certificates
• Safety deposit boxes
• Stocks and dividends

Other organizations hold unclaimed property and may be able to help find assets:

• Some provinces have unclaimed property systems. For instance, British Columbia has the British Columbia Unclaimed Property Society.
• To claim a credit union account in Quebec : Revenu Québec, Direction générale des biens non réclamés, 500 boul. René-Lévesque ouest, 10^e étage, Montréal, QC K2Z 1W7. 1 866 840-6939
• In Alberta
• The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada holds some unclaimed property stemming from bankruptcies.
• For stocks, dividends and securities, contact the province’s securities commission, e.g., Ontario Securities Commission.
• Some financial institutions have their own database. Please consult the institution’s website for more information.

Follow our instructions.

You will need documents proving your identity and connecting you with the account. If you are an heir, or are making a claim in some representative capacity, you will need appropriate documentation of your status or authority. The information you provide us has to match exactly the information you provided to the bank when the account was opened, including the exact spelling of a person’s or a company’s name.

When you identify an unclaimed balance which you believe you are probably entitled to, you will have to complete the claim form which you will obtain from this site. Follow the instructions carefully, obtain the necessary signatures, and return it to the address shown. Be sure to attach all requested documentation to support your claim to ownership.

When we receive your completed claim form, we review it carefully and compare it with information on file. We will contact you if we need additional information. Once we receive all required documentation and have established ownership, we will pay the claim.

We generally process and pay claims within 30 to 60 days from receipt of a claim. Some claims involving estates may take longer.

No. The Bank of Canada does not charge a fee for searching its records.

The Bank of Canada provides this service free of charge. However, you may have to incur legal fees or notarial fees to provide us with legal evidence that you are entitled to claimed funds.

The Bank of Canada maintains custody of all balances of $1,000 or more for 100 years, until they are claimed. Unclaimed balances under $1,000 are retained for forty years (ten years from the date of the last owner transaction at the Canadian bank, plus an additional thirty years at the Bank of Canada). Consequently, in the case of balances under $1,000, a written claim must be received by the Bank of Canada no later than December 31 of an account's last year (that is, the year of the last transaction date + forty years).

To help find the owners:

Up until the end of 2007 the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published all unclaimed balances of $100 or more in the year prior to their potential transfer to the Bank of Canada (i.e., in the ninth year of inactivity). This was published in the Canada Gazette; which is available at all public libraries.

The Bank of Canada makes information available to the public without charge:

• on this Internet site (excluding balances below $2.00)
• by mail: Bank of Canada, Unclaimed Balances Services, 234 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G9
• by fax: 613 782-7713

A request for a search must include the full name of the individual, the addresses of his/her past residences, and the year of death if the individual is deceased.

The full list of unclaimed balances may also be purchased on a CD-ROM (data only) for $72 plus GST and PST plus $3 for shipping. Send your request and money order or certified cheque to the Bank of Canada at the above address.

At the end of December 2011, approximately 1.3 million unclaimed balances, worth some $465 million, were on the Bank's books. Over 93% of these were under $1,000.00, representing 29% of the total value outstanding. In 2011, the Bank paid out $15.8 million to account holders. The oldest balance dates back to 1900.

Website availability is monitored Monday thru Friday from 8:00 to 17:00 ET.

No. The Bank of Canada is not a commercial institution. It does not provide regular banking services, nor does it accept deposits from the general public. Its clientele are the federal government, other central banks, commercial banks and certain other financial institutions.

For information on commercial banks in Canada, see the Canadian Bankers Association.

The Bank of Canada was created to be the sole issuer of bank notes and to facilitate management of the country's financial system.

Having an independent monetary institution allows for the separation of the power to spend money from the power to create money.

Separating the central bank from the political process enables it to adopt the medium- and long-term perspectives essential to conducting effective monetary policy.

The Bank of Canada is responsible for:

1. Monetary Policy
   The goal of monetary policy is to contribute to solid economic performance and rising living standards for Canadians by keeping inflation low, stable, and predictable.
2. Bank Notes
   The Bank of Canada designs and issues bank notes that Canadians can use with the highest confidence.
3. Financial System
   The Bank of Canada actively promotes safe, sound, and efficient financial systems, both within Canada and internationally, and conducts transactions in financial markets in support of these objectives.
4. Funds Management
   The Bank of Canada provides high-quality, effective, and efficient funds-management and central banking services for the federal government, the Bank, and other clients.

The revenues generated by the Bank each year greatly exceed its operating expenses.

The revenues derive from the Bank of Canada's role as the issuer of bank notes to Canada's financial institutions. Institutions pay the Bank when they withdraw bank notes from it. The Bank then invests these funds in government bonds and treasury bills. The interest earned on these investments is the Bank's main source of revenue.

The difference between the interest the Bank earns and its operating expenses is its net profit, which is given to the federal government. In recent years this profit has averaged about $1.7 billion annually.

This process, whereby a central bank earns revenue in exchange for its role as the issuer of a country's currency, is called seigniorage.