Annick Demers

Annick's practice is focused on legal and regulatory compliance in the retail financial services industry in Quebec. She provides advice to banks, non-bank financial institutions, non-bank lenders, retailers, third-party service providers and fintechs. She assists them with consumer protection, consumer leasing and lending, payment products, money transmission, debt collection, insurance, reinsurance, real estate and mortgage brokerage, licensing, advertising, e-commerce, product development and language requirements (including French language requirements and clarity of language).

Annick monitors and advises on the impact of legislative and regulatory developments affecting participants of the retail financial services industry in Quebec. She communicates, drafts submissions, prepares applications and obtains regulatory approvals, certifications and permits from Quebec regulators on behalf of clients. She assists clients in various aspects of projects, including compliance, distribution and advertising of retail financial products (such as consumer loans and leases, credit insurance, payment cards, extended warranties and money transfers) and in the review of customer-facing agreements and related documentation used in Quebec.

She is also involved in providing compliance advice and assessing compliance risk in the context of mergers and acquisitions and reorganizations, particularly involving financial services entities.

Annick also provides general regulatory and licensing advice to clients in other industries, such as automotive, travel, hospitality (including liquor licensing) and construction.

Annick was the exclusive winner of Lexology’s Client Choice Award 2019 in the Banking category for Quebec. She has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2027 in the area of Banking and Finance Law.