A few key points highlighted below. click here for the full article from the Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/are-we-placing-too-much-faith-in-banks-advice/article5077728/

In the banks we trust.

A question to ponder for Financial Literacy Month is why this is so.

 There’s no onus on the banks to offer the products or advice that work best for your needs. Some of the people you deal with at bank branches may in part be paid through commissions or bonuses on products sold, or they may be under instructions to emphasize one product over another.

Either way, what’s best for the bank may not be ideal for you.

Banks may also withhold key information that would help you make informed choices. If you don’t know the intricacies of a product, you can’t count on them to wise you up..

You get a different view when you look how the number of bank-related complaints flowing into the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments has risen to 448 from 240 in the past five years, or 87 per cent. OBSI hears from people only after they have exhausted every avenue within a bank to resolve a complaint.

It’s never been more important to apply the principles of financial literacy to the way we deal with banks. More and more, the banks are moving beyond chequing accounts and mortgages into selling investments and financial planning. Have you noticed how more bank branches are opening on Saturday and Sunday? It’s all about helping you find time to come in for advice.

Go on in to talk, but remember that a key rule of financial literacy is to be careful about trusting the banks.