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, 203 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:
We have appointed a Seniors Champion who actively participates in the implementation of the Code. An internal reporting process facilitates the transmission of potential cases of abuse, financial mistreatment or fraud to the Seniors Champion, who then ensures the provision of timely support to all team members. The specialized support service is continuously trained on new developments and new practices in this area. As at October 31, 2024, the Seniors Champion has intervened in 71 cases of potential harm to senior customers.
Understanding that this segment of our clientele is more vulnerable to 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 monthly and includes representatives from our Legal, Fraud, Compliance and Customer Service teams. The committee held 9 meetings in 2024 to discuss cases submitted to the Seniors Champion, thus enabling the Bank to be proactive with this clientele, take steps to raise awareness, and to also react promptly to all situations of senior abuse.
The Bank also made procedures available for team members, front-line representatives, and specialized units to be able to identify and signal potential cases of financial abuse to the Seniors Champion. All procedures are available in a centralized repository of information for all employees. These procedures describe:
key indicators to quickly identify cases of financial mistreatment, abuse or fraud;
mechanisms to deal with these types of cases; and,
means to report all potential cases of abuse to the Seniors Champion.
An annual review of these procedures allows us to ensure that we continue to comply with the elements of the Code at all times.
To ensure information is easy to access and understand, we implemented a dedicated webpage for seniors as well, and we updated our Complaint Resolution Process – Achieving Customer Satisfaction brochure (PDF, 55 KB) to include the Seniors Champion as an escalation option for seniors. This dedicated webpage describes all products and services offered to seniors, such as the 65+ Plan, the Preferred Account 60+ Advantage, and The Unlimited Account 60+ Advantage. We also describe the lending facilities we offer to seniors, such as the Retirement Line of Credit and Equity Line of Credit insurance. Moreover, the webpage provides important information about RRIFs and other investment products.
Senior customers can also access tutorials on our electronic services and useful links to get access to our LBCDirect Services. Finally, seniors can communicate directly with the Bank or the Seniors Champion from this page if specific needs arise, such as access to certain documents in a specific form.
Understanding the particular needs of our senior clientele, our branch locations offer confidential spaces for seniors to meet with our advisors and receive extra support in using and accessing our range of digital services. Seniors can also request assistance at any time for all ATM transactions in our branch network.
In March and October 2024, we invited customers (mainly seniors) to attend information sessions at some of our branches on fraud and cyberfraud. These sessions were run in collaboration with the police.
All team members have also received training to ensure they are fully equipped to offer the best possible service to seniors. This training has covered the following topics:
Identifying signs of potential financial abuse or financial mistreatment;
Actions to be taken to deal with elderly customers who are victims of abuse or mistreatment;
Procedures on how to report cases of potential harm or abuse
Types of fraud; and,
Best practices to interact with seniors.
The initial training, aligned with the Seniors Code, was deployed when the Code first came into force and is mandatory for all new customer facing employees who join the Bank. Additional training for these employees, via webinars, for example, is also carried out on an annual basis to ensure that our personnel are up to date with the latest trends.
Our continued promise.
Laurentian Bank recognizes the crucial contribution of seniors to our society, and in respecting their needs, we strive to continuously improve how we deliver banking services on their behalf.