CategoryBank News

Posted June 3, 20132 Comments Bank News

CMHC CEO Karen Kinsley out, Wall Street banker Robert Kelly in… anybody asking why??

Karen Kinsley has been with CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) for 25 years. The last 10 as it’s CEO. CMHC makes buying a home more affordable by insuring the mortgage against default. End result is a lower down payment requirement and lower interest rates. CMHC is profitable. They earned $1.7 billion in 2012 and $17 billion over the last 10 years.

In 2012, the Federal govt and the Minister of Finance decided to move CMHC under OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions). OSFI is a regulatory body that provides regulation and supervision to 152 Banks, Trust companies and other Lenders. They function like auditors. A move questioned by many and one that contradicts the spirit of what CMHC is supposed to stand for.

Enter Robert P. Kelly. Mr. Kelly was appointed as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CMHC this same month. Coincidence? Here’s a bit of history on Kelly….He worked at TD Bank from 1981 to 2000 leaving as a senior executive that was on the short list to be TD’s CEO.. he didn’t get the job and left for the U.S. to join Wachovia, then later Bank of New York Mellon as CEO and Chairman. I remember Mr. Kelly from my days working at TD. He was always a higher profile, more visible executive… Continue reading “CMHC CEO Karen Kinsley out, Wall Street banker Robert Kelly in… anybody asking why??”

Posted May 13, 2013 Bank News

Fixed mortgage rates could move up this week.

Guess I shouldn’t have talked about the record low interest rates last week… Today, 2 small lenders increased their fixed mortgage rates and another Lender warned of a potential increase coming sometime this week. What’s driving the higher rates? A jump in the 5 year bond yields. Fixed mortgage rates are directly affected by the Govt of Canada bond yield.

With bond yields jumping 20 basis points in the past 1o days, it’s only logical to assume mortgage rates will go up. click here to see bond yields. But hey, with interest rates at record low levels, it’s no reason to panic. Rates are still great…. if you want to protect yourself against a possible increase, get a rate hold… it’s free and there’s no obligation. Most Lenders will hold rates for 120 days..

Need help to get a rate hold? Call me. I can help.

Your best interest is my only interest.

As always, I welcome your comments, calls and questions.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted May 8, 2013 Bank News

More BIG SIX BANK penalty nightmares… when will Canadians learn to look elsewhere for their mortgage?

Here’s a great article from The Star’s Ellen Roseman on mortgage penalty nightmares. She shares just a few stories out of the dozens she’s received over the past little while. There is no reasonable justification for charging borrowers these inflated penalties… If you think your immune from these penalties, think again.

Notice the name of the Banks that are mentioned in her article… Yes, part of the BIG SIX club… Don’t get lulled into believing that dealing with a BIG SIX BANK offers some sort of immunity from higher penalty charges… The experiences of these borrowers and countless others proves otherwise…

I’ve been getting more calls and comments on this recently… $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 in penalties. How is it that the smaller Lenders can offer the same or better interest rates, and not charge these inflated penalties? The BIG SIX BANKS reported a record $30billion combined profit in 2012…!! Doesn’t make any sense, does it? And yet, it continues…

Remember, there are several other Lenders that don’t calculate their penalties with the same inflated formula… Seek advice from a mortgage broker… get another opinion… There are better options and I have access to them! It’s no secret…. I’m happy to share this info to anyone that wants it.

Come on Federal govt… do something to stop this madness and protect Canadians from this gouging!

Your best interest is my only interest!

As always, I welcome your comments, calls and questions.

Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca

Posted April 10, 20132 Comments Bank News

RBC Boycott has gone viral with Facebook and twitter.

It’s official. Canadians are outraged over RBC replacing Canadian workers with foreign workers. The story broke this weekend from CBC and it’s not going away anytime soon.

Over 5,000 comments were posted before the comments section was closed. And now a Facebook page called ‘Boycott Royal Bank of Canada” and several twitter hashtags have popped up creating quite a buzz amongst Canadians.

RBC executives are trying to put a positive spin by saying they are trying to ‘redeploy the affected employees’. Come on RBC, we all know what’s happening. So let’s be very clear. RBC is replacing current Canadian jobs with cheaper foreign labor. The current jobs are being shipped overseas to India where labor is less expensive. End result is a higher net profit for the RBC shareholder. I guess 2012’s record $7billion profit just isn’t enough! Continue reading “RBC Boycott has gone viral with Facebook and twitter.”

Posted April 8, 20131 Comment Bank News

RBC accused of terminating Canadian workers in place of cheaper, foreign labor.

RBC reported a record $7.5billion profit in 2012. That was up by 17% from 2011. Not bad. In fact, all the BIG SIX BANKs had a great 2012… with a combined record profit of 30 billion!. There’s nothing wrong with profit. All businesses should expect to make a reasonable profit. And a healthy and profitable banking system is important for Canadians. Our Banks are so big that 5 of the top 8 most profitable corporations are now Banks.

But when is it enough? And how far will the BIG SIX BANKs go to increase their profits? Would you believe that Canadian Banks could or would outsource work to foreign countries to save a buck?! CBC News reports that RBC is terminating 45 IT systems support jobs and replacing them with foreign workers. iGATE corp. is an outsourcing corp from India with over 27,000 employees, according to their website. Continue reading “RBC accused of terminating Canadian workers in place of cheaper, foreign labor.”