The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that a national retirees' group has filed a complaint with Canada's competition watchdog, claiming that sales practices at the Big Five banks are anticompetitive and harmful to customers. The Globe's Clare O'Hara writes that the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) recently expressed concerns to the Competition Bureau that bank branch advisers limit their investment advice to their own proprietary products, rather than considering the full range of available options, including those from third-party providers. "This structure essentially kills any competition once investors enter their local branches," CARP chief executive officer Anthony Quinn wrote in the submission. The lack of investment product competition is "alarming," he added, especially when compared with other financial service products such as mortgages, loans, credit cards and insurance, where banks "compete aggressively." Mr. Quinn argued that the priority of the Big Five banks is to "sell, almost exclusively, proprietary investment products, with no mandate to prioritize the best outcomes for their clients." The Competition Bureau has confirmed that it has received CARP's complaint.