Merrill Lynch Canada Inc.

Headnote

Pursuant to National Policy 11-203 Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions -- Relief from the prohibition on the use of corporate officer titles by certain registered individuals in respect of institutional clients -- Relief does not extend to interactions by registered individuals with retail clients.

Applicable Legislative Provisions

Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System, s. 4.7(1).

National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, ss. 13.18(2)(b) and 15.1(2).

April 28, 2022

IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES LEGISLATION OF ONTARIO (the Jurisdiction) AND IN THE MATTER OF THE PROCESS FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF APPLICATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS AND IN THE MATTER OF MERRILL LYNCH CANADA INC. (the Filer)

DECISION

Background

The principal regulator in the Jurisdiction has received an application from the Filer for a decision under the securities legislation of the Jurisdiction (the Legislation) that pursuant to section 15.1 of National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (NI 31-103), the Filer and its Registered Individuals (as defined below) are exempt from the prohibition in paragraph 13.18(2)(b) of NI 31-103 that a registered individual may not use a corporate officer title when interacting with clients, unless the individual has been appointed to that corporate office by their sponsoring firm pursuant to applicable corporate law, in respect of Clients (as defined below) (the Exemption Sought).

Under the Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions (for a passport application):

(a) the Ontario Securities Commission is the principal regulator for this application, and

(b) the Filer has provided notice that subsection 4.7(1) of Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System (MI 11-102) is intended to be relied upon by the Filer and its Registered Individuals (as defined below) in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Yukon (together with the Jurisdiction, the Jurisdictions) in respect of the Exemption Sought.

Interpretation

Terms defined in MI 11-102 and National Instrument 14-101 Definitions have the same meaning if used in this decision, unless otherwise defined.

Representations

This decision is based on the following facts represented by the Filer:

1. The Filer is a corporation existing under the federal laws of Canada. The head office of the Filer is located in Toronto, Ontario.

2. The Filer is registered as an investment dealer in each Jurisdiction. The Filer is also registered as a dealer (futures commission merchant) in Manitoba and Ontario and as a derivatives dealer in Québec.

3. The Filer is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Association of Canada (IIROC) and the TSX Venture Exchange, is an approved participant of the Montréal Exchange and is a participating organization of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

4. Other than with respect to the subject of this decision, the Filer is not in default of securities or commodity futures legislation in any of the Jurisdictions.

5. The Filer is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, a global financial institution providing a diversified range of financial services and products through its various subsidiaries in 35 countries around the world (the Bank of America Group).

6. The Filer is part of the Global Corporate & Investment Banking (GCIB) and Global Markets (GM) lines of business of Bank of America Group.

(a) GCIB provides traditional banking products and investment advisory and capital markets access to large U.S. and multinational corporations outside the U.S. with annual revenues in excess of $2 billion.

(b) GM offers sales and trading services, including research, to institutional clients. GM product coverage includes securities and derivative products in both the primary and secondary markets. GM also provides financing, securities clearing, settlement and custody services and risk management products to institutional clients.

7. Each of the above noted lines of business operate through the Filer in Canada and through Bank of America's various other subsidiaries worldwide.

8. The Filer does not have any retail clients. All of its clients are institutional.

9. The Filer is the sponsoring firm for registered individuals that interact with clients and use a corporate officer title without being appointed to the corporate office of the Filer pursuant to applicable corporate law (the Registered Individuals).

10. The number of Registered Individuals may increase or decrease from time to time as the business of the Filer changes. As of the date of this decision, the Filer has approximately 25 Registered Individuals. The Registered Individuals work within the GCIB and GM lines of business of the Filer.

11. The current titles used by the Registered Individuals include the words "Managing Director", "Director" and "Vice-President", and the Registered Individuals may use additional corporate officer titles in the future (collectively, the Titles). The Titles used by the Registered Individuals are consistent with the titles used at the Bank of America Group affiliates.

12. The Filer has a process in place for awarding the Titles, which sets out the criteria for each of the Titles. The Titles are based on criteria including seniority and experience, and a Registered Individual's sales activity or revenue generation is not a primary factor in the decision by the Filer to award one of the Titles.

13. The Registered Individuals interact only with institutional clients that are, each, a non-individual "institutional client" as defined in IIROC Rule 1201 (the Clients).

14. Section 13.18 of NI 31-103 prohibits registered individuals in their client-facing relationships from, among other things, using titles or designations that could reasonably be expected to deceive or mislead existing and prospective clients. Paragraph 13.18(2)(b) of NI 31-103 specifically prohibits the use of corporate officer titles by registered individuals who interact with clients unless the individuals have been appointed to those corporate offices by their sponsoring firms pursuant to applicable corporate law.

15. There would be significant operational and human resources challenges for the Filer to comply with the prohibition in paragraph 13.18(2)(b). In addition, the Titles are widely used and recognized throughout the institutional segment of the financial services industry within Canada and globally, and being unable to use the Titles has the potential to put the Filer and its Registered Individuals at a competitive disadvantage as compared to non-Canadian firms that are not subject to the prohibition and who compete for the same institutional clients.

16. Given their nature and sophistication, the use of the Titles by the Registered Individuals would not be expected to deceive or mislead existing and prospective Clients.

17. For the reasons provided above, it would not be prejudicial to the public interest to grant the Exemption Sought.

Decision

The principal regulator is satisfied that the decision meets the test set out in the Legislation for the principal regulator to make the decision.

The decision of the principal regulator under the Legislation is that the Exemption Sought is granted, provided that, when using the Titles, the Filer and its Registered Individuals interact only with existing and prospective clients that are exclusively non-individual "institutional clients" as defined in IIROC Rule 1201.

This decision will terminate six months, or such other transition period as may be provided by law, after the coming into force of any amendment to NI 31-103 or other applicable securities law that affects the ability of the Registered Individuals to use the Titles in the circumstances described in this decision.