Bank of Montreal required to pay monetary penalty of $4 million
Feb. 04, 2026
Global Korean Post
–
Accurate disclosure is a foundational element of the consumer protection provisions of the Bank Act. For consumers to make informed financial decisions, they must be provided information that is accurate and, at a minimum, meets legal requirements.
FCAC applied an administrative monetary penalty of $4 million on the Bank of Montreal (BMO) for violations of consumer provisions in the Bank Act. The violation was described in Summary of Proceeding #4, published February 2, 2026.
A total of 101,091 customers were financially impacted. BMO has issued refunds and redressed interest to impacted customers totalling more than $3 million. For the amount that could not be refunded to accounts, BMO made a charitable donation of more than $600,000.
The violations relate to erroneous charges for monthly plan fees that should have been waived or discounted for certain personal deposit accounts. From 2010 to 2024, BMO failed to disclose all charges applicable to these accounts. Additionally, between 2022 and 2024, BMO failed to clearly disclose information regarding when monthly plan fees would begin.
The role of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is to protect financial consumers by supervising the compliance of federally-regulated entities, including banks, with their legislative obligations, codes of conduct and public commitments and by strengthening the financial literacy of Canadians.
by Global Korean Post
