October 1^st, 2014 Organization

Montréal - The Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") today released its 2013 annual report on financial institutions (in French only). This report outlines the AMF's oversight and supervision of financial institutions in Québec aimed at maintaining market efficiency and ensuring the fair treatment of consumers.

This inaugural consolidated report demonstrates the AMF's commitment to transparency toward marketplaces and the public. In its report, the AMF presents the risks and issues that guide its oversight and supervisory efforts with respect to financial institutions. These include the application of international standards to a systemically important financial institution, the impacts of climate change, changes driven by new technologies (telematics), prevailing low interest rates and the potential risk of a real estate bubble.

The report, which consolidates four annual reports that used to be published by the AMF, will be a comprehensive and useful source of information for better understanding the AMF's role and its vision as an integrated regulator.

2013 - Satisfactory financial positions
The AMF found that financial institutions generally had satisfactory financial positions and that they complied with existing capitalization expectations and standards.

• The financial services cooperatives, trust companies and savings companies that constitute the deposit institutions sector enjoy relative financial stability and their ratios respect the AMF's prescribed regulatory thresholds.
• The year saw the gradual financial recovery of life and health insurers (insurers of persons). Of note are the strong performance by Québec chartered insurers, which posted an average solvency ratio of 240%, and the significant growth in direct written premiums in Québec, which totalled $13.7 billion in 2013.
• Overall, the damage insurance sector is financially robust, reporting an average solvency ratio of 253% and a clear upward trend in property insurance premiums. Direct premiums written for this sector totalled $8.5 billion in 2013.
• The automobile insurance sector in Québec remains healthy, despite the decline in insurers' estimated operating results from 9.1% to 5.7% of earned premiums from 2012 to 2013. Moreover, insurance rates fell for the 10th consecutive year, indicating that the market continues to be competitive and attractive.

The AMF is also publishing its 2013-2014 annual management report (pdf - 8 MB)This link will open in a new windowUpdated on October 1^st, 2014Rapport annuel; Autorité des marchés financiers; 2013-2014 (in French only).

Both reports are available on the AMF website.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (the "AMF") is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector.

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Information:

Journalists only:
Sylvain Théberge: 514-940-2176

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