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(December 6, 2007) The IDA has found Robert William Boswell guilty on four counts of violating bylaw 29.1 and one count of violating bylaw 19.5.

The charges stem from unauthorized trades made by Boswell while he was an approved person at the Calgary branches of Research Capital Corporation and subsequently Jennings Capital Inc.

Boswell apparently made 350 trades in 27 client accounts and then tried to compensate a client for losses, using a series of post-dated cheques, which later bounced. He was also found to have served clients in three provinces for which he was not registered and to have misrepresented account balances to clients.

He was terminated by Research Capital in February 2003 and by Jennings in October 2003. A penalty hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

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Immigrants keen to buy homes

(December 6, 2007) New Canadians are not only making their adoptive country home — they’re buying homes. According to a report by Genworth Financial Canada, 52% of immigrants have bought their own home, on average, within three years of arrival.

Home ownership ranks very highly within the immigrant community, with 91% saying it is either important or very important to them. But two-thirds say they lacked information about financing options.

“This study illustrates how critically important the dream of homeownership is to recent immigrants to Canada,” said Peter Vukanovich, president of Genworth Financial Canada. “Lenders, builders and Realtors have done a good job serving this market, but we need to provide even more information about the home-buying process so those new to Canada understand the options available to them before making this major decision.”

Genworth offers a guide to home-buying, which is available in Farsi, Spanish, Korean, Chinese and Punjabi.

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Islamic finance risk tough to gauge

(December 6, 2007) The unique structure of Islamic financial products, which among other things forbid earning interest, poses a challenge to those charged with assessing the risks involved in such investments, according to the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

To bridge the gap between traditional risk assessment and the cultural phenomenon, GARP is teaming up with the Banque du Liban to develop a certificate in risk management for Islamic financial institutions, which will be launched in late 2008.

“[The] growing demand for Islamic financial products is the driving force for developing the certificate in risk management for Islamic financial institutions,” said Dr. Ahmad Jachi, vice-governor of Banque du Liban. “Further growth in the market will be inhibited unless better transparency emerges and standardized approaches are developed.

“Our aim is to have generally accepted risk management practices among Islamic financial institutions which will be of necessary use to bankers around the world.”

Islam’s Sharia’a law dictates that investors cannot engage in transactions that are speculative, pay interest or involve contractual uncertainty, and all transactions must be asset-backed.

(12/06/07)