The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has released its latest service standards scorecard, saying that it met or exceeded most of its performance targets over the fourth quarter of the 2022-2023 financial year.
The quarterly service standards were established to provide stakeholders and consumers with a clear understanding of what they can expect from the FSRA. These encompass various metrics that govern regulatory activities in five key areas: auto, credit unions, pensions, market conduct, and public affairs.
In its Q4 report, FSRA said it achieved or surpassed performance targets for 96.97% of its standards. Activities that were evaluated include license renewals, regulatory applications, and complaints handling.
Performance scores were within or above the target for majority of the standards, except processing time for defined benefit plan wind-up applications in the pension sector. This was due to process inefficiencies between the special transactions and actuarial services team. The FSRA said it has implemented a “team approach” to reviewing applications, aimed at mitigating processing delays from the previous siloed review process.
Additionally, the regulator said it is actively working on updating its internal and external licensing systems through the FSRA Forward Digital Transformation initiative. Once these systems are implemented, a consultation will be held to establish new licensing standards.
FSRA also said it will temporarily suspend reporting on current licensing service standards during the transition period. Applicants will still be able to access application processing dates on its website.
The latest report is the ninth publication of FSRA’s service standard performance results. The regulator released its first quarterly scorecard in 2021, although it initially planned an April 2020 release. The delay was due to operational disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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