Notice to Licensed Insolvency Trustees—Directive No. 5R5, Estate Funds and Banking

May 25, 2016

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) has amended Directive No. 5R4, Estate Funds and Banking, to provide efficiencies for Licensed Insolvency Trustees (LITs) and address technological advances in banking. The requirements of the Directive have been informed by public consultation and stakeholder input.

The Directive has key changes related to a Trust Transfer Account, Monthly Trust Account Reconciliations and Estate Filing Fees. Other Administrative Amendments can be found in the Cover Letter for the Directive.

Trust Transfer Account

To facilitate electronic transactions, LITs may use a trust transfer account to receive electronic payments from debtors and the OSB. LITs may also receive payments for estate files using a debit machine within their office.

Upon request from the OSB, a LIT will be required to use no more than one destination account for payments from the OSB. Where payments consist of trust money, this single destination account shall be a trust transfer account. These changes are in keeping with the Government of Canada’s Direct Deposit Initiative which promotes electronic receipt of payment from the government.

Monthly Trust Account Reconciliations

For Monthly Trust Account Reconciliations, LITs now have the option to sign reconciliations for all trust accounts or sign a single attestation.

Estate Filing Fees

Estate filings fees may be paid from either an estate trust account or the LITs corporate account, this will allow for greater clarity and to codify existing practices.

Directive No. 5R5, Estate Funds and Banking, comes into force on the date that it is issued.