Hi Laurent,
The OFSI stands for The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). It is an independent body put in place to supervises and regulates federally registered banks and insurers, trust and loan companies, as well as private pension plans subject to federal oversight.
Why did they ask banks not to raise? Because in a poor economy, the banks don't do well and liquidity can be an issue. Although there are regulatory liquitidy rules now in place since the Financial Crisis, they are being extra cautions to ensure none of the banks are at risk of collapsing.
In Europe the asked forced the banks to cut dividends, and the U.S. alos put in certain guidelines that forces some to cut the dividend. We are fortunate here in Canada as the ask was to simply not raise the dividends. The pandemic has brought about considerable uncertainty and until they know for sure that we are on the other side, they will ask banks to be cautious with their capital.
I honestly have no issues with it and although it may be overly conservative, better than than to get themselves in trouble if all of a sudden the rebound stalls and we find ourselves back in another depression.
Mat