G20 Toronto smashes bank windows…Big Six lower their Fixed Rates

In case you’re wondering how the G20 Summit affected Canada’s mortgage business…. Most Lenders have their head offices in the heart of Toronto… and most all of them issued notices that turnaround times and disruptions may occur…Fortunately, Lenders have back up plans because of past emergencies likes 9-11, SARS and the Blackout.

Oddly enough, the Big Six Banks all lowered their Retail mortgage rates over the past few days…. 10bps is not a big drop, but any rate drop should be welcome news to all Canadians.

• Posted 5 year fixed rate is 5.89%.  This is also the qualifying rate for mortgages with less than 20% down payment and terms less than 5 years and for Variable rate mortgages…..
• The best discounted 5 year fixed rates seem to be around 4.39%…
• No changes for Variable rate pricing… Big Six are advertising Prime less 0.35% as their best but wholesale rates are at around Prime less 0.60% and sometimes better.
• Big Banks giving big push for Hybrid mortgages….and although I’m not a fan of these products for most of us, there may be a place for them for some of us….just make sure you are fully aware of all the pros and cons of this product.

Just a personal comment about the G20 Summit… as someone who was born and raised in Toronto, I was saddened by the images that flashed across our TV set…police cars on fire…broken windows, masked protesters…This isn’t a true reflection of our city…our city has the reputation of being one of the cleanest, safest and friendliest in the world… I hope that message made it’s way to the rest of the world….