The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Canadian regulators are conducting a co-ordinated probe of sales practices within bank branches, the latest such inquiry following a public report on "potential investor harm due to alleged high-pressure sales practices for mutual funds at some Canadian banks." The Post's Barbara Shecter writes that the Ontario Securities Commission and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization will begin by gathering information on the sales culture and environment within Canadian banks in order to identify any issues and assess their scale. This phase is expected to conclude in early 2025, and the findings will inform any next steps. The OSC said the latest probe into mutual-fund sales tactics was prompted by a CBC Marketplace report last spring on bank sales practices, which used hidden cameras as well as interviews with current and former employees. The OSC has previously looked at whether banks were giving preference to their own fund products over those of third parties after it was directed to do so by Ontario's Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy. An OSC spokesperson declined to say whether there is a connection between that investigation and the latest one.