CDIC Proposes Amendments to Deposit Insurance Disclosure Rules: What Member Institutions Should Know

The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (“CDIC”) has proposed amendments (the “Amendments”) to the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Deposit Insurance Information By-law (the “By-law”) that would change how member institutions communicate deposit insurance information to customers. If adopted, the amendments would impose new requirements relating to employee training, advertising, branch signage, digital channels and disclosure for products offered under trade names.

Member institutions should begin assessing whether their customer-facing communications, marketing materials, digital platforms, and employee training programs would comply with the proposed requirements and identify operational changes that may be needed before the proposed implementation dates.

The Amendments were published on July 4, 2026 for a 30-day consultation period ending August 3, 2026.

The Amendments are intended to modernize and clarify how CDIC member institutions communicate deposit insurance information to customers across physical, digital and advertising channels.

In the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (“RIAS”), CDIC states that its recent review of the By-law was informed by focus groups, mystery shopping, compliance work and research into the evolving banking experience. That review identified a lack of clarity regarding certain requirements, a need to further enhance awareness of CDIC and a need to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of discussions between member institution staff and depositors about CDIC and the deposit insurance framework.

Key Takeaways

• The Amendments would introduce annual training requirements for employees and representatives who may discuss deposit insurance or CDIC membership with customers.
• Member institutions would need to include a CDIC membership statement or symbol in certain paid video advertising that refers to deposit accounts, including digital, social media, television and streaming advertisements.
• The existing in-branch brochure requirements would be replaced with a more flexible CDIC information sheet, which could be made available in print or digitally.
• The signage framework would be simplified, with a standard physical membership sign for branches and a CDIC symbol for digital platforms, including requirements for the digital symbol to link to the CDIC information sheet.
• Additional disclosures would be required where eligible deposit products are offered under a trade name, to help customers understand the relationship between the trade name and the CDIC member institution and how deposit insurance coverage is aggregated.

Staff Training Would Become a Formal Compliance Requirement

A key operational change is the proposed requirement for member institutions to establish and maintain a training program for staff who may discuss deposit insurance or CDIC membership with customers.

Training would need to be completed annually and cover core topics such as:

• CDIC membership status;
• what constitutes an insured deposit;
• how coverage is calculated; and
• when CDIC would make payment.

CDIC indicates that it would provide a training module that member institutions could use, although institutions could also develop their own training if it meets the required content.

In practice, member institutions will need to identify which employees and representatives are in scope, build annual completion tracking and ensure that scripts, knowledge articles and customer-facing materials are consistent with the training content.

The proposed delayed coming-into-force date for the training requirement would give institutions additional time to build, deploy and track annual training.

Advertising and Digital Disclosures Would Be Modernized

The Amendments would extend CDIC disclosure expectations to paid video advertising that references deposit accounts. This would include digital, social media, television and streaming advertisements.

The Amendments would also update terminology and requirements to better reflect digital banking channels. This is important given the increasing use of mobile apps, online account opening, digital-only brands and embedded financial services distribution models.

Branches, Websites and Digital Platforms Would See Updated Display Rules

The Amendments would replace the current brochure framework with a CDIC information sheet. Member institutions would be able to make this information available in print or digitally, including through in-branch digital displays.

CDIC also proposes to simplify signage into two standard forms: a physical CDIC membership sign for branches and a CDIC symbol for digital platforms (replacing the prior CDIC badge).

The digital symbol would need to link to the CDIC information sheet online. For member institutions, this may require updates to branch signage inventories, website templates, mobile app flows, account-opening journeys and marketing approval checklists.

Products Offered Under Trade Names Would Require Clearer CDIC Disclosure

The Amendments would add disclosure requirements where a member institution offers eligible deposit products under a trade name. Websites that offer eligible deposit products under a different trade name would need to include a clear statement explaining the relationship between the trade name and the CDIC member institution.

This is a particularly important development for digital brands, partnership models and institutions that operate multiple brands. Customers may not always understand that deposits held under different brands may be deposits of the same CDIC member institution. Without clear disclosure, customers could come away with the impression that their deposits have more CDIC coverage than is actually available, which may affect the financial institutions with which they decide to deposit their money.

What’s Next

The Amendments would come into force on December 1, 2026, other than the section related to the training program, which would come into force on July 14, 2028.

This staged timing is important: most operational, advertising, signage and digital disclosure changes would need to be addressed for the December 2026 date, while institutions would have a longer runway to operationalize the formal annual training program.

Member institutions should consider using the consultation period and implementation period to assess operational impacts and identify any practical issues with implementation. Key steps may include:

• identifying employees, representatives and service channels that may be in scope for annual CDIC training;
• reviewing existing customer scripts, FAQs, knowledge management materials and complaint handling resources for consistency with CDIC requirements;
• inventorying paid video advertising and updating marketing review processes to capture CDIC disclosure requirements;
• reviewing branch signage, digital signage, websites, mobile apps and account-opening flows against the proposed display requirements;
• mapping trade names, digital brands and partnership distribution arrangements to determine whether additional explanatory disclosure is needed;
• assessing vendor and affiliate dependencies for website, app, advertising and training updates; and
• preparing comments for CDIC before the August 3, 2026, consultation deadline.

Institutions that begin implementation planning early will be better positioned to meet the proposed December 1, 2026, effective date and to provide practical feedback during the consultation period.

As the proposal is still subject to consultation, CDIC member institutions should review the actual proposed by-law text and transition provisions carefully when assessing implementation requirements.

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