BCFSA Releases Findings from 2023 Sector Insights Survey

BC Financial Services Authority is releasing findings from its 2023 Sector Insights Survey, reinforcing its commitment to engaging with stakeholders in a transparent and purposeful manner and regularly evaluating progress made.

Between January and February 2023, BCFSA collected perspectives from professionals across B.C.’s financial services sector, including real estate, mortgage brokers, insurance, trusts, pensions, and credit unions on BCFSA’s overall effectiveness and impact on regulated entities and individuals. The survey was completed by 2,589 respondents and is an important step in helping BCFSA grow, informing the organization’s communications practices, approach to developing regulatory policy, and its engagement with stakeholders.

The survey results demonstrated BCFSA’s overall strong baseline of engagement with participants in the financial services sector, and highlighted areas for growth and improvement. The feedback received from stakeholders in this survey will enable BCFSA to focus its efforts to engage consistently and effectively with industry.

BCFSA’s mandate is to instil confidence in the financial services sector by focussing on the safety and soundness of regulated entities and protecting consumers. BCFSA must safeguard the interests of consumers such as depositors, policyholders, beneficiaries, pension plan members, and homebuyers while at the same time allowing the financial services sector to take reasonable risks and compete effectively.

Clarity on BCFSA’s mandate

According to the BCFSA Sector Insights Survey, there is general sector-wide clarity on BCFSA’s mandate, with more than 6 in 10 (63%) respondents expressing familiarity with the roles and responsibilities of BCFSA as the provincial financial services regulator. For a look at the responses from each of BCFSA’s regulated segments, see the Detailed Survey Results.

Notably, more than half (68%) of survey respondents acknowledged a positive difference in the way BCFSA engages and communicates with them since organizational changes in 2019 and 2021. BCFSA is proud of the work to date to enhance its communications with industry members and looks forward to continuing to build awareness with sector participants. See the responses by segment.

Positive perspectives on BCFSA communications and interactions with BCFSA Team Members

Email communications and BCFSA’s website emerged as the top two sources of information for survey respondents, with a majority rating them as clear and useful. Looking ahead, BCFSA will continue to improve the accessibility of regulatory information on its website.

When it came to reviewing engagement with BCFSA Team Members, a high percentage of survey respondents rated their interaction with Team Members as professional (73%) and timely (67%), even during reviews, audits, examinations, or investigations. See the Detailed Survey Results for responses from each segment.

Increase opportunities for meaningful feedback and engagement

The survey findings include moderate ratings for BCFSA’s engagement practices, with 30% of respondents agreeing that BCFSA is “collaborative” and “innovative in its approach.” The responses indicate that increased collaboration during BCFSA’s consultations and enhancements to its feedback processes may represent opportunities for BCFSA to further develop its engagement with stakeholders. See the Detailed Survey Results for a look at responses by segment.

As part of its multi-year Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, BCFSA publishes a Regulatory Roadmap each year which lays out its anticipated regulatory priorities over the next three fiscal years. The Roadmap, which is intended to increase transparency and enable regulated entities to prepare for consultations, is just one of the innovations introduced since BCFSA was established in 2019 to increase stakeholder engagement. This fall, BCFSA will launch an Advisory Group Framework to further enhance interactions and engagement with stakeholders and will continue to focus on sector engagement as a priority area in the years ahead.

Education is top-of-mind for real estate and mortgage professionals

Education was identified as a key area of interest for mortgage brokers and real estate licensees according to the Sector Insights Survey. There was strong support for ensuring that these industry participants receive training and continuing education to enable them to deliver a high standard of service to consumers. Respondents expressed an overall satisfaction with continuing education content, registration processes, and course availability. More than half of the respondents agreed that the course(s) they had taken prepared them to provide competent and professional services and kept their knowledge and skills up to date.

Survey responses help shape future plans

The findings from the 2023 Sector Insights Survey will inform future planning by BCFSA. Key takeaways included continuing to increase opportunities for engagement with industry stakeholders, enhancing communication channels, and addressing key challenges, including adapting to changing market conditions and ensuring real estate licensees and mortgage brokers benefit from timely, relevant continuing education. BCFSA thanks all the individuals who took part in the survey for their valuable feedback.

Learn More

For more information about the survey, including responses to key survey questions detailed by segment, please see Detailed Survey Results: BCSFA 2023 Sector Insights Survey.

For questions related to the Sector Insights Survey, please contact BCFSA’s Stakeholder Engagement team at [email protected].