MONTREAL — CIBC is “ready for open banking,” CEO Victor Dodig told analysts Friday, even as he issued a call for the federal government to consider both sides of the issue as it prepares a framework to govern data-sharing between Canadian banks and fintechs.

“We encourage our government policymakers to think about both the offense and the defence in open banking,” Dodig said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

Open banking is the name for a system under which consumers can choose to share their financial data with third parties aside from their bank. Fintechs in Canada have long wanted the federal government to introduce standards that would let them access customer data held by banks, which would let them offer competing services. Most of Canada’s largest banks have so far been reluctant to share that data with fintechs directly. 

While the Liberals have pledged to implement open banking by the beginning of 2023, the government hasn’t said to what extent it plans to follow the recommendations outlined in last year’s advisory committee report, which suggested among other things the creation of a new body to manage the system and the possibility of codifying the rules in legislation.

The ambiguity has dismayed some in fintech, whose representatives have pressed the government for stronger public commitments on open banking.

One key issue that has yet to be resolved is the government’s role in mandating that banks share data with fintechs. The advisory committee recommended a largely regulatory-driven framework that would require federally regulated banks to participate in such a system. But powerful voices in the industry, including former finance minister Bill Morneau, have since advocated that the government take a less hands-on approach.

Finance Canada spokesperson Anna Arneson said the government will share next steps on open banking “in due course.”

As CIBC reported higher net income and revenue in its fiscal first quarter it also highlighted new investments it was making in fintech. 

Earlier this week, the bank announced that it was taking an equity stake in Pollinate, a London-based fintech that operates a platform for small- and medium-sized businesses. The platform, which will launch in Canada as Tyl by CIBC, will offer companies a more streamlined service for banking and payment processing, said Laura Dottori-Attanasio, CIBC’s group head for personal and business banking, on Friday’s earnings call.

In January, CIBC also made a partnership with nCino, a NASDAQ-listed company that provides cloud-based banking software for businesses. The moves position CIBC well for changes in the industry, Dodig said.

“When it comes to our bank specifically, we’re well set up for [open banking], both through our personal and business banking franchise, as well as through our direct financial services franchise,” Dodig said. “We’ve got strategies that cover the map and allow us to compete very effectively.”

The next step in implementing open banking is for the government to appoint an official to oversee the issue on behalf of Finance Canada. Government officials have told industry stakeholders in recent weeks that it is getting close to a decision, a person familiar with the matter told The Logic.

Policymakers have been discussing potential candidates with the tech and finance sectors since at the least the middle of last year, The Logic previously reported. The open banking lead would work inside the department for a set term before handing off the file to a body composed of industry and consumer representatives.