Can a Bank Reject Power of Attorney in New Brunswick?
Yes, Banks Reject Valid EPAs — and It Happens Constantly
A family member walks into a branch with a properly executed enduring power of attorney, asks to access their parent's account, and gets turned away. This is one of the most common and most frustrating experiences for attorneys acting under a New Brunswick EPA. The document is legally valid. The lawyer certified the grantor's capacity. The attorney is named in the document. And the bank says no.
Banks reject EPAs for institutional risk reasons, not necessarily legal ones. Their compliance departments are trained to be conservative, and the consequences of granting access to the wrong person are severe. But the consequences of wrongly refusing access to the right person are also severe — bills go unpaid, mortgage payments are missed, medications aren't funded, and the vulnerable adult suffers.
Why Banks Say No
The most common rejection reasons in New Brunswick:
The document is "stale." Some banks have internal policies refusing EPAs that were signed more than a certain number of years ago — often five or six years. There is no legal basis for this in New Brunswick. An EPA remains valid until the grantor revokes it, loses capacity (for non-enduring types), or dies. A bank cannot unilaterally impose an expiry date on a valid legal instrument.
Joint donor error. If two parents signed a single joint EPA instead of executing individual documents, the bank is right to reject it. Joint EPAs are legally invalid in New Brunswick — each person must have their own separate document with their own execution ceremony.
Internal form requirements. Many banks (particularly the Big Five — RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC) have their own internal power of attorney forms. They may ask the attorney to complete the bank's proprietary form in addition to the provincial EPA. If the bank insists on its form or refuses the EPA, ask for the reason in writing and escalate it through the bank's complaint process.
Missing capacity certificate. The bank wants to see the lawyer's capacity certificate that accompanied the EPA execution. If the attorney only has a copy of the EPA itself but not the certificate, the bank's compliance team may stall.
Springing EPA without trigger documentation. If the EPA is springing and the attorney hasn't provided the triggering documentation specified in the EPA, the bank is correctly requiring proof that the EPA has been activated.
What to Do When a Bank Refuses
Step 1: Ask for the Reason in Writing
Verbal rejections are hard to escalate. Ask the branch staff to document the specific reason for the refusal in writing. This forces the bank to commit to a legal position rather than hiding behind vague "policy" language, and it creates a paper trail for escalation.
Step 2: Escalate to the Branch Manager
Many rejections come from front-line staff who are unfamiliar with provincial EPA legislation. The branch manager has more authority and may override the refusal after reviewing the document.
Step 3: Contact the Bank's Legal or Compliance Department
If the branch manager upholds the rejection, escalate to the bank's centralized legal compliance team. Send a written request that includes:
- A certified copy of the EPA
- The lawyer's capacity certificate
- If the EPA is springing, the triggering documentation
- A clear statement that the EPA complies with New Brunswick's Enduring Powers of Attorney Act and that the bank's refusal is preventing you from fulfilling your fiduciary obligations to the grantor
Step 4: File a Complaint with the Bank's Ombudsman
Every major Canadian bank has an internal ombudsman or customer complaints office. Filing a formal complaint creates institutional pressure and establishes a record that can be referenced in external complaints.
Step 5: Escalate to External Regulators
If internal channels fail, two external options exist:
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC): For federally regulated banks, you can report complaint-handling concerns to the FCAC; it does not resolve individual complaints
- Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI): An independent dispute resolution body that can formally review the complaint and make recommendations
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Preventing Rejections Before They Happen
The most effective strategy is getting the EPA on file with every financial institution before a crisis occurs. When the grantor is still competent:
- Visit each bank with the grantor and the attorney together
- Present the original EPA and ask the bank to copy it for their records
- Ask what specific documentation the bank requires from an attorney presenting the EPA in the future
- Complete any internal forms the bank requests, while retaining the provincial EPA in the bank's records
This pre-registration step costs nothing but eliminates the most common rejection scenario: an attorney presenting an unfamiliar document during a crisis while the compliance department scrambles to verify it.
The New Brunswick Power of Attorney Kit includes escalation letter templates for bank rejections and a pre-registration checklist for getting your EPA on file with financial institutions before you need to use it.
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Download the New Brunswick — POA Quick-Start Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.