Legal disclaimer 

In these terms and conditions, “we”, “us” and “our” means Canadian Western Bank (“CWB”, and together with its subsidiaries, “CWB Financial Group”). These terms and conditions apply to all CWB Financial Group websites, unless specifically superseded by other terms and conditions of any webpage or online service accessible through a CWB Financial Group website.

Each time you use our website, you acknowledge and accept the terms and conditions below, which we may revise periodically without notice. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, do not use our website.

1. Access. We cannot guarantee that our website will be accessible at all times, without interruption, or that it will be free from errors and/or omissions. We will not be responsible for any damages that may result from the inaccessibility of our website or from any difficulties that you may experience while accessing or using our website. We reserve the right to suspend at any time, without warning, full or partial access our website and any pages accessible through certain social media sites. We may discontinue uploading information to our website without notice.
2. Purpose. Information on our website is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation to sell any currency, investment fund, securities, units of mutual funds, or other product service or information in any jurisdiction in which an offer or solicitation is not authorized or cannot be legally made, or to any person whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation. The information and materials available on our website are not intended to provide legal, accounting, investment, financial or tax advice to any user and should not be relied upon by a user. We encourage users to seek qualified professional advice.
3. Content. Although we take reasonable care to ensure that information is accurate when posted to our website, we do not warrant or make any representations or claims as to the validity, correctness, currency, timeliness, or completeness, of the information provided on our website. We will not be liable or responsible for any claim or damages, direct or indirect, arising out of the interpretation, reliance upon or other use, authorized or unauthorized, of such information.
4. Currency. The documents and information available on this site are provided as a convenience only. Our website may not always be the most current source for information about CWB Financial Group. We disclaim any liability for any failure to update our website or any information, data, materials or documents available on our website. Where any documents on this site have been filed in accordance with applicable securities law, such documents are not the official versions of CWB Financial Group's securities law disclosure documents. For up to date information about CWB, its subsidiaries and respective publically available securities, see www.SEDAR.com.
5. Links. Certain links on this website lead to websites maintained by independent parties over whom we have no control. The fact that we provide links to other websites does not mean that we endorse or approve of the content of any linked website. We make no representation in respect of the accuracy or any other aspect of the information contained on such websites, and we disclaim any responsibility for the content of such websites.
6. Availability. Not all products and services displayed on our website are available in all regions of Canada. Our products and services are available in accordance with local law where they may be lawfully offered for sale. All of our products and services are subject to the terms of applicable agreements.
7. Online Services. You may carry out transactions with us on through our internet banking platform, CWBdirect. The services available through CWBdirect are governed by specific agreements and terms that describe your access and use of CWBdirect. These terms and conditions apply concurrently to the specific agreements and terms that govern those products and services accessed via CWBdirect and this website. When you carry out transactions with us through CWBdirect, you are solely responsible for ensuring that all user IDs, access card numbers, passwords, and personal identification questions used on the website are protected. We will not be responsible for any damages that you may incur as a result of the unauthorized or illegal use of user ID(s), access card number(s), password(s), or personal identification question(s), or your failure to ensure the secure and confidential nature of the transactions.
8. Internet: Internet software transmission problems could produce inaccurate or incomplete copies of documents or other material from this website when downloaded and displayed on a user's computer. We take reasonable precautions to ensure this website is free of computer viruses. We recommend that the user install and use appropriate anti-virus or other protective software. However there is still a possibility that data security violations may occur and we disclaim all liability for any computer viruses, “worms”, “Trojan horses” or other disruptive or destructive programs that may be inadvertently downloaded from our website or otherwise.
9. Security. We will protect sensitive communication between you and our website, CWBdirect, and CWB Mobile by encrypting the communication while in transit. However, we cannot protect information exchanged when our website, CWBdirect or CWB Mobile is accessed through a non-secure platform, connection, or in a public location, and as a result, we are not responsible for any damages that you may incur under such circumstances. In addition, we have no control over the protection of your e-mail communications with us. We recommend that you not include private and sensitive information in e-mails to CWB Financial Group including, but not limited to, account numbers, user IDs, account balances, passwords, etc. We will not be responsible for any damages you may suffer if you transmit confidential or sensitive information to us through e-mail.
10. Paramountcy. In the event that these terms and conditions are incompatible or inconsistent with the specific agreements and terms applicable to any specific product or service, the latter shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
11. Monetary amounts: All amounts mentioned in this site are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.
12. Copyright. No material from this site may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, except, you may download one copy of the materials on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial home use only, provided you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Modifying the materials or using the materials for any other purpose is a violation of CWB's copyright and other proprietary rights.
13. Ownership. The material and information on this site are made available only under the conditions set out herein. CWB reserves its rights to the intellectual property presented in and by our website, which includes, but is not limited to, its copyrights, trademarks and corporate logos.
14. Limitation of Liability. In general and without limiting the specific cases of limitation of liability mentioned above, and notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, we shall not be held responsible for any damages that may result from or relate to our website and/or its contents. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, we shall not be held responsible for issues of access, use, accuracy of contents, or the loss of data or information, whether or not we have been informed of the possibility of such issues.

CWB Financial Group companies

• Apex^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• CWBdirect^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• CWB Core™ is a trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• CWB Onyx™ is a trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• CWB Wealth Management^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Gold Leaf PLUS^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• In-Touch Telephone Banking^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Peak Performance^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Summit Savings Account^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• The Working Bank^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Ultimate Choice^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• WestEarner^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• High Rise^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• HOMEWORKS^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Strata Solution^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• The Greater Interest GIC^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
• Service You Can Trust^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank, used under license by CWB Trust Services.
• A Reputation for Getting Things Done^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank, used under license by Computershare Trust Company of Canada.
• Sensible Lending^® is a registered trademark of Canadian Western Bank, used under license by Optimum Mortgage.
• Valiant Trust Company™ is a trademark of Canadian Western Bank Company, used under license by Computershare Trust Company of Canada.
• CWB Equipment Financing™ is a trademark of Canadian Western Bank.
  
  

Third-party trademarks

• MasterCard^® is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Inc.
• Cirrus^® is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Inc.
• Maestro^® is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Inc.
• MBNA^® is a registered trademark of the Toronto Dominion Bank
• INTERAC^® is a registered trademark of Interac Inc.
• Visa^* is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association.
• Moneris^®, Moneris Solutions^®, and the Moneris design are all registered trademarks of Moneris Solutions Corporation.
• American Express^® is a registered trademark of American Express Inc.
• Discover^® is a registered trademark of Discover Financial Services.
• Ceridian^® is a registered trademark of Ceridian Canada Ltd
• THE EXCHANGE Network^® is a registered trademark of FICANEX Canada Inc.
• iPhone^®, iPod Touch^®, and iPad^® are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the United States and other countries.
• App Store^® is a service mark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
• Android™ is a trademark of Google Inc.
• Google Play™ is a trademark of Google Inc.
• BlackBerry^® is a registered trademark of Blackberry Limited
• Qtrade Investor is a division of Qtrade Securities Inc., Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.
• PH&N LifeTime Funds^® is a registered trademark of PH&N Investment Services.
• CFP^® and Certified Financial Planner^® are certification trademarks owned outside the U.S. by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB). Financial Planning Standards Council is the marks licensing authority for the CFP marks in Canada, through agreement with FPSB.
• Canadian Securities Course (CSC)^®, Conduct & Practices Handbook Course (CPH)^®, Professional Financial Planning Course (PFPC)^® and Wealth Management Essentials (WME)^® are registered trademarks of the Canadian Securities Institute.
• WESTERN UNION^® is a registered service mark of Western Union Holdings, Inc. and is used with permission.
  
   

Understanding FATCA and CRS

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is an American law that aims to prevent US taxpayers (also called “US Persons") from using accounts held outside the United States to evade American taxes. This law applies to US persons and to dual US-Canadian citizens.

The Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”), also known as Global FATCA, was introduced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and is aimed at preventing offshore tax evasion maintain the integrity of the tax systems through the automatic exchange of information around the world. Canada, along with over 100 other countries, agreed to comply with CRS.

The Income Tax Act (Canada) was amended to include due diligence and reporting obligations that in respect of the implementation of FATCA and CRS in Canada.

How it works

All financial institutions in Canada, including Canadian Western Bank and its affiliates (collectively “CWB Financial Group”), are required to identify and report annually on certain financial accounts held by US Persons or by foreign tax residents and specific owners of foreign (or non-foreign) entities to the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”). Loans and leases offered by CWB National Inc. and CWB Maxium Financial Inc. are not currently reportable. The CRA will then share the information with the appropriate countries through existing provisions and safeguards, consistent with privacy laws.

CWB Financial Group and other financial institutions are required by law to ask clients to self-certify their tax residency each time they open a new account (subject to certain exceptions) or when there is a potential change in the client’s tax residency.

Accounts exempt from FATCA/CRS reporting

The following list contains examples of certain accounts that are exempt from reporting under both FATCA and CRS:

• Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
• Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)
• Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs)
• Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs)
• Registered Pension Plans (RPP)
• Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)
• Deferred Profit Sharing Plans (DPSPs)

For a complete list and details of exempt accounts under FATCA and CRS, please see CRA’s FATCA guidance and/or CRS guidance.

Who is affected?

Under FATCA, you are generally considered a US Person if you are:

• A citizen of the US (including those born in the US but resident in Canada or another country who have not renounced their US citizenship)
• A resident of the US (including US green card holders)
• An entity (that is a business or non-profit, including estates and trusts) that is a tax resident of the US or is a passive entity with one or more controlling persons who are US reportable persons.

Please note this is not an inclusive list.

Under CRS, tax residency refers to the country in which an individual, business or other entity, including individuals who have a controlling interest in the entity, is subject to taxation due to residency. In general, an individual is a tax resident of the country where he/she lives, not where the individual invests. Similarly, a business is generally a tax resident of the country where the business was incorporated. Each country has unique rules to determine tax residency and an individual or business is responsible for determining the tax residency rules applicable in their situation and ensuring the accuracy of the information submitted to CWB Financial Group.

What information will be reported to CRA?

If an account is reportable under FATCA or CRS, the following information (as applicable) will be reported to the CRA:

• Account holder’s:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Date of birth (for individuals)
  • SIN (Canada only)
  • Tax identification number (TIN) (if country issues TINs)
  • Country (countries) of tax residence
• Account number
• Account balance or value (or the closure of the account)
• Amount of interest, dividends, gross proceeds and other payments made or credited to the account (if applicable)
• Payments paid or credited to Non-Participating Foreign Financial Institutions

The above information is not exhaustive. Other countries participating in the CRS may require additional information to be reported to their local tax authorities (such as the account holder’s place of birth).

Learn more

For more information on FATCA and CRS, please visit the CRA website, or CRA’s FATCA guidance and/or CRS guidance.
The above information is intended to provide general guidance only, and is not an exhaustive analysis of all provisions of FATCA or CRS. The above information should not be construed as legal, financial, or tax advice. CWB Financial Group cannot provide legal or tax advice to clients. If you are unsure about your tax residence, speak with a professional tax advisor.