Our Pledge

It’s important for you to understand our thoughts on tied selling:

Our pledge to Manulife Bank customers

Manulife Bank is committed to providing all our customers with a broad range of banking products and services, using ethical and high-level selling practices. Senior management is responsible for upholding the pledge. We provide information to staff regarding our policies and practices in connection with tied selling. We also have procedures in place to receive, investigate and respond to customers’ complaints or questions, including those regarding tied selling. For detailed information on our complaint handling procedures, please click here.

What is tied selling?

Tied selling is the act, on behalf of a bank, of offering products or services conditional upon purchasing another of the bank’s products or services. The result is that a customer is required to purchase an offering they may not need. Tied selling is prohibited by the Bank Act, and Manulife Bank does not support or take part in tied selling.

Cross-selling versus tied selling

Not to be confused with cross selling, tied selling is a misuse of the leverage a bank has over a customer in need of a product or service.

For example, receiving a brochure marketing a bank account in your loan statement is referred to as cross-selling. Being offered a personal loan only on the condition that you move your mortgage to that same bank is considered tied selling.

Coercive selling

Coercive selling is putting undue pressure on a customer to buy a product or service from a specific person, the institution, or an affiliate of the institution. Manulife Bank will not, in its dealings with customers or the general public, take part in any form of coercive selling and will not take advantage of a person in any way in order to make a sale.

Managing credit risk

Banks have the obligation to manage credit risk prudently. Accordingly, Manulife Bank may impose certain requirements on borrowers, as a condition of extending credit. For example, we may require a borrower to obtain a product or service, such as a transaction or operating account, or refrain from taking on additional debt, as a condition of granting a loan. In addition, we may require that security provided by a borrower for a loan meet with Manulife Bank’s approval. This approval will not be unreasonably withheld.

Beneficial selling arrangements

While Manulife Bank has developed selling arrangements to benefit customers, we have also implemented practices and procedures to ensure that our standards are in keeping with those of the Bank Act and that adhere to our pledge. Relationship pricing is an example of a beneficial selling arrangement. We may offer a product or service on more favorable terms than otherwise would be offered, to customers who obtain another product or service from us. This is a way to offer more competitive prices to our customers.