By: Jeff Sanford

Did OSFI have a little moment of panic a couple weeks ago? At a recent event a member of Canada’s banking community recalled how their firm received a hastily prepared request from OSFI to fill in just five lines on a spreadsheet describing the company’s capital position.
The request was so far out of the bounds normal monitoring of such things the banking official couldn’t help but wonder whether OSFI was having a bit of a freak-out at the height of the recent Wall Street meltdown. In a subsequent call, the regulator asked whether the exec had seen any evidence of a bank run and requested he call OSFI immediately if such evidence surfaced. Hey, at least we know they’re watching.
According to the exec, the problem now is that tghe new capital requirements from OSFI are hurting lending. If there is a credit crunch in Canada, it’s a result of the new regs said the exec. “There are a lot of people who think that,” he says.