Canadian consumers’ complaints about their banks and investment managers have nearly tripled, according to figures provided by the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI).

In figures provided in a fall meeting with consumer groups, OBSI reported it had opened more than 3,000 cases, nearly triple the 1,153 cases opened in the previous year, which also had been a record high.

OBSI provides external dispute resolution for two of Canada’s six largest banks, as well as for most investment firms. When consumer complaints are not resolved to their satisfaction with the service provider, consumers can turn to OBSI for assistance.

Banking cases more than tripled, and investment cases increased more than 40 per cent compared to the previous year. OBSI uses an October 31 year-end.

OBSI attributed some of the bank complaint growth to changes in the Bank Act that came into effect last year, designed to reduce consumer complaint attrition.

The most reported issues among banking consumers are fraud, followed by service issues, chargebacks, interest rates and general relationship complaints. Complaints in all categories rose significantly. Fraud-related complaints more than quadrupled over the past year. Investment suitability is the most frequent investment issue, followed by fraud (driven by crypto complaints) and service issues.

The rise in complaints has resulted in delays in case assignments. The report noted “despite our efficiency and productivity gains, cases were coming in faster than our investigators can close them.”

Banking cases are waiting about three months for assignment, while investment cases take about two months. OBSI noted that it is closing cases faster than ever, however, an average of 39 days on banking and 69 days on investment cases.

OBSI said it has added 24 staff to case management teams and anticipated more growth to reflect the increase in complaints, and the addition of four of Canada’s largest banks to its client list, after the federal government mandated that all banks use OBSI for external complaint resolution.