Professional trustees place deposits at CDIC member institutions and hold those deposits in designated Professional Trustee Accounts. These accounts, along with the relevant contact information of the Professional Trustee, will be identified by CDIC based on the failed member’s records.
For more information, please visit For Professional Trustees.
For more information about CDIC’s coverage and categories, please visit How deposit insurance works.
Payout Process for Professional Trustees
CDIC will make the deposit insurance payment directly to the professional trustee holding the deposit on behalf of their clients. Professional trustees can then work with their clients to determine the appropriate steps regarding their clients’ funds. CDIC insures up to $100,000 for each beneficiary (i.e., client) named in a trust, provided deposits meet CDIC requirements and CDIC has the required beneficiary information.
CDIC cannot make a payment to professional trustees unless the required beneficiary information has been provided in relation to the deposits held at the failed member. The required beneficiary information includes:
- The full name and address of each beneficiary to the Professional Trustee Account (e.g., an entity, person, or co-owners); and
- The portion of the trust belonging to each beneficiary expressed as a percentage (%) or dollar amount ($).
The beneficiary information must be provided in accordance with the Professional Trustee Data Requirements (PTDR). For more information on how to provide beneficiary information, please visit the Professional Trustee Data Requirements page.
CDIC will communicate directly with professional trustees about submission instructions.
Approach for reimbursement of Professional Trustee Deposits
- Establish contact – CDIC contacts the Professional Trustee using the information on the failed member’s records to outline the reimbursement process.
- Collect beneficiary information – CDIC will work directly with the Professional Trustee to collect the required beneficiary information through the PTDR file.
- Insurance calculation – CDIC calculates the deposit insurance payment based on the beneficiary information provided by the Professional Trustee.
- Statement and payment – CDIC will send insurance payment via wire transfer or cheque and a statement itemizing its calculations that will allow the Professional Trustee to allocate the funds to their clients.
CDIC Professional Trustee Communication Process
CDIC’s reimbursement process for deposits held by Professional Trustees:
- CDIC will contact the professional trustee identified on the records of the failed member to discuss the payout process.
- CDIC will only communicate with the appropriate senior representative of the affected Professional Trustee Accounts regarding the deposit insurance payment process.
- CDIC will request and collect key client information from each professional trustee by means of the PTDR and will provide instructions about how to provide this information securely.
- CDIC will communicate payment schedules and provide a payment statement to professional trustees when available. Each professional trustee will be responsible for distributing deposit insurance reimbursements to their client/beneficiaries.
For reasons of confidentiality, CDIC is prohibited from sharing any client deposit information with individual clients of professional trustees during the reimbursement process. If you are a client with deposits at the failed member and require more information, please contact your professional trustee directly.
If you have any questions about the professional trustee payout process or if you wish to confirm whether you will be involved in this process (including updating any essential contact information with CDIC), please contact us at info@cdic.ca.
FAQs for Professional Trustees
How are professional trustee deposits protected by CDIC?
Deposits held by a professional trustee on behalf of their clients or other beneficiaries are treated by CDIC as deposits held in trust. The professional trustee is the depositor on record for the member institution and their clients are the beneficiaries.
Eligible deposits in professional trustee accounts under the trust deposit insurance category receive coverage of up to $100,000 per beneficiary. Similarly, if they are placed under another category (e.g., RRSP, RESP, RRIF, RDSP, FHSA or TFSA) then they can receive separate coverage of up to $100,000.
What’s the reimbursement process for deposits held by professional trustees?
CDIC will contact all professional trustees impacted by the closure of a failed member to inform them of the process and timelines to reimburse insured deposits.
CDIC will use the contact information on the records of the failed member to contact professional trustees.
The insurance payments are based on CDIC calculations using deposit information collected from the failed member and beneficiary (or other) information provided by the professional trustees.
In this instance, reimbursement is made directly to professional trustees, usually by cheque or wire transfer. CDIC does not provide payments directly to clients or beneficiaries of professional trustees and the latter are responsible for disbursing payment to their clients.
I am a professional trustee who has placed deposits at a member institution. Will CDIC contact me regarding my clients’ deposits?
Yes, if your accounts have been identified on the records of the member institution as a designated Professional Trustee Account (PTA), CDIC will use the member’s records to contact you about the reimbursement processes.
How will CDIC provide insurance payments for deposits placed by professional trustees?
Reimbursements are made directly to the professional trustees usually through wire transfer or cheque. CDIC does not provide payments directly to clients or beneficiaries of professional trustees and the latter are responsible for disbursing payment to their clients.
How long will it take for CDIC to pay professional trustee deposits?
The timing will depend on when professional trustees can provide the required beneficiary information to CDIC.
Professional trustees are required to provide beneficiary information, in accordance with the Professional Trustee Data Requirements (PTDR) to CDIC upon request. CDIC cannot make funds available to professional trustees unless the required data has been provided in relation to the deposits held at the failed member.
After the beneficiary information is received and validated, CDIC will begin to reimburse insured deposits.
As a professional trustee, can I request that the payment be directed to a beneficiary or client?
No. For reasons of privacy & confidentiality, CDIC will only deal with the professional trustee, who is the depositor of record at the failed member. Deposit insurance payments will be provided directly to the professional trustee, who is responsible for distributing any reimbursements to their client/beneficiaries.
How many days do professional trustees have to provide client/beneficiary information to CDIC?
For professional trustees, there is no mandatory timeframe for submitting beneficiary information. However, CDIC cannot make funds available to professional trustees unless we have complete information about deposits held at the failed member. To expedite reimbursement, we recommend submitting the required beneficiary information as soon as possible once CDIC has made the request of you.
What if my client/beneficiary has more than $100,000 in deposits in a designated professional trustee account held at a failed institution?
CDIC protects eligible deposits made by a professional trustee at a member institution to a maximum of $100,000 per deposit category per beneficiary. Depositors with deposits above the $100,000 limit can file a claim for unprotected balances with the court-appointed Liquidator.
I am a client of a professional trustee who placed my money at a failed member. The professional trustee has told me to call CDIC. How do I get my money back?
For reasons of confidentiality, CDIC is prohibited from sharing any deposit information with individual clients of professional trustees during the reimbursement process.
CDIC will calculate coverage based on the insurance categories within which your professional trustee placed the deposits. Once an insurance determination has been made, CDIC will provide payments directly to your professional trustee.