Big Six Banks: OK to Tighten Mortgage Rules
According to the Globe and Mail, in an effort to avoid widespread U.S.-style economic fallout, the top Canadian banks are in favour of the government making changes to mortgage qualification rules, even if it means losing profits.
The Big Six banks addressed these concerns late last year when they met with Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada. However, the Bank of Canada doesn’t make the policy. That’s up to the Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, who in December spoke of the possibility of tightening mortgage rules if needed to head off a housing bubble.
What I found interesting were the senior bank executives who spoke on “condition of anonymity”. Just when Canada’s banking reputation was being heralded as “good and boring”, it turns out that our mortgage lenders are more cloak and dagger. It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out.
