ENHANCING IN-PERSON CLIENT EXPERIENCE
In 2023 we opened our new Downtown Toronto Regional office, located in the core of downtown Toronto, which is adjacent to our new Downtown Toronto banking centre, which opened in January of 2024. We also relocated our Calgary Northeast banking centre to a new location which was built upon our Banking Centre of the Now designs and provides employees with upgraded technology and a modern open concept work environment. They also offer a boutique atmosphere that supports the high-touch relationships we have with our clients, as we continue to deliver an unrivaled experience.
CWB’s new regional office in Toronto’s Financial District
FAIR ADVICE TO CLIENTS AND RESPONSIBLE SALES PRACTICES Our policies and programs ensure our sales and marketing activities are conducted with honesty and integrity. Our offerings comply with consumer protection laws, regulations and voluntary public commitments related to the fair design and sale of financial products and services. Our Code of Conduct, which is further discussed in the Business ethics and integrity section, outlines our expectations for our team members to deal fairly and honestly with our clients and avoid coercive tied selling, and our compensation and incentive plans are designed to support responsible sales practices. To promote awareness of their responsibilities, our team members are required to complete role-based consumer financial protection training on an annual basis.
MEASURING CLIENT EXPERIENCE
Our client experience strategy is informed by research and direct collaboration with our clients to ensure we are prioritizing what matters most to them. We regularly engage with our clients to understand their evolving needs and which elements of the banking relationship matter the most and identify areas where we can continuously enhance our differentiated client experience. In 2023 we engaged with clients to gain insights on our new client onboarding experience, electronic alerts, our complaints management process, our website and our approach to sustainability. We leverage our Voice of the Client surveys, administered by an independent third party to all business and personal clients throughout the year, to measure client satisfaction, which is considered in the determination of variable executive compensation. Refer to How we listen to our stakeholders for examples of ways we engage with our clients. In 2023, our client feedback remained very positive, despite challenging market conditions throughout the year.
EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION OF CLIENT CONCERNS
Our goal is to provide an unrivaled experience for our clients, and that includes resolving concerns in an effective and timely manner. We strive to resolve client concerns through our proactive team members in our banking centres. If a concern is not resolved to the client’s satisfaction within the prescribed timeframe, it is escalated to CWB’s Complaints Handling Office (CHO), which is dedicated to investigating and resolving client concerns. If the CHO does not provide a satisfactory resolution, the issue is further escalated to the Office of Concern Resolution (OCR), which provides an objective review of unresolved or complex concerns. Finally, if the response provided by the OCR is not to the satisfaction of the client, they may contact the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), Canada’s independent dispute-resolution service for consumers and small businesses.
As a testament to our focus to build strong client relationships,
83% (1) of our business clients who use CWB as their primary bank feel like a valued client, and
81% (1) view their CWB relationship manager as a trusted advisor.
(1) Based on our Voice of the Client survey results for the year ended October 31, 2023.
Refer to our Resolving your concerns webpage for a step-by-step guide of our process and metrics on the number of complaints opened with our OCR in our most recent fiscal year.
26 2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT
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