Canadian financial institutions increasingly see the financial system as risk-free. That might be a risk itself. The Bank of Canada (BoC) completed its biannual Financial System Survey (FSS) this week. It found institutions are buying “riskier” assets to make up for low interest rates. Risk managers see the risk as low, believing the financial system […]
Soaring Canadian mortgage debt might finally be showing some signs of cooling. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows outstanding mortgage credit hit a high in September. Annual growth is now rising at one of the fastest rates in over a decade. However, the pace of borrowing is falling very quickly. This might be a sign […]
Time for your weekly cheat on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate Global Stagflation Reminiscent Of The 1970s Is Forming, And It’s Bad News: National Bank National bank of Canada’s chief economist warned of a new risk — stagflation. This is a period of high inflation and low economic growth, and the first signs […]
Canadians have been house crazy during the pandemic, and it’s been a big boost to the economy. Now with housing returning to more typical volumes, it’s turned into a drag on the economy. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows real gross domestic product (GDP) slipped lower in July. Even with a pullback, it’s making progress […]
Global bond yields are rising and it’s going to push the cost of financing a mortgage a lot higher. The Government of Canada (GoC) 5-year bond yields pushed higher again yesterday. Earlier this week, we mentioned lenders are considering reversing recent mortgage rate cuts. Now we have our first to actually execute — TD. More […]
Canadians are once again comfortable spending their recent home equity windfall. The balance of home equity line of credit (HELOC) debt reached a new record high in July. Growth has recovered from last year’s low, and is now at the highest level since before the pandemic. Canadians Owe Over $267 Billion In Debt Secured By […]
Canada’s largest banks cut mortgage rates last week, and now they might need to reverse the cuts. Half of Canada’s “Big Six” banks cut the interest rate on their 5-year fixed rate mortgages at the end of last week. It might have seemed like a no-brainer back then, but a week is forever ago in […]
Canadian households devote an astronomical amount of income just to carry their debt payments. Data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) shows Canadian households have a very high debt service ratio (DSR). The ratio dropped in Q4 2020 slightly, but it’s still much higher than any other G7 country. Not even the US housing […]
Canadian household indicators are showing their debt problems are rapidly resurfacing. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the ratio of household debt to disposable income surged in Q2 2021. This measure indicates debt is growing faster than the rate of income. Debt as a ratio of income has actually never seen such fast annual growth […]
Canadian debt is dirt cheap, but it won’t be this cheap forever, warns BMO. Douglas Porter, the bank’s chief economist, expects the cost of borrowing to remain “low for long.” He just doesn’t see it being quite as low as the current stimulus driven environment. As governments taper stimulus to fund its spending, borrowing rates […]
