Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says federally regulated Canadian banks and trust companies will be banned from using their websites to promote insurance that can't be sold through their regular branch offices.

Jim Flaherty says the so-called non-authorized insurance products will include life, property and casualty insurance.

Banks are already prohibited from advertising the non-authorized insurance products in their regular branch offices, although they are allowed to set up separate locations to sell that type of insurance.

Certain other types of insurance related to credit and travel have been authorized for sale in bank branches.

Flaherty said the measure to crack down on online advertising was made necessary by the evolving use of technology by banks.

The regulations would allow a bank's corporate web page, where no financial products are promoted, to display links to insurance subsidiaries.
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