The issue I have is it's no secret that if you need a loan or investment advice, you can go to a bank. I don't think anybody across this country, whether that person is a newcomer, a Canadian who was born and raised here, an elderly person, or a student.... You know that if you're in need of investment advice, a student loan, or a car loan, you'll probably call your bank first.
That's why it's troubling that when customers come to a bank—they're just there to conduct their daily banking—that they're obviously bombarded with investment opportunities or opportunities they may not even know about.
The second question is this. Why do your banks and your institutions pre-approve clients who aren't asking for credit limit increases? That's a deceptive practice in itself. Why are you pre-approving people for a higher credit limit when they haven't even asked for it? What's the logic behind that at your banks? If it doesn't go to sales targets....
I'll give you an example. I walk into one of your branches, and I have a credit card with a legitimate limit. I don't need a higher limit, but I've been pre-approved. The person who brings it up to me is a teller who, in this case, I have just met for the first time. This person thinks he or she knows my financial history and profile well enough to offer me a pre-approval of a substantial increase in my credit line, my credit card, and a mortgage, by the first time I'm coming to deposit a cheque. That is very concerning.
Andrew, you mentioned that when you heard the news, you guys were shocked and awed. The funny thing is, on this side of the House, I was not shocked at all. I have friends who went through business school with me and who worked at a lot of your institutions. They all all know that if you perform, you do very well at the banks. Good for them, right? But if you don't perform, you're out really quickly.
I want to know why you guys think that pre-approvals of applications, when somebody is not coming to apply for credit, is a legitimate sales technique.