TagBank of Canada

Posted January 9, 2014 Mortgage News

New threat of Rate hikes… it’s called Finance Minister Flaherty.

The Federal govt of Canada and the Bank of Canada are supposed to operate independently. The Minister of Finance gives the Bank of Canada its objectives or its mandate. And the Bank of Canada is supposed to carry out that mandate. The dotted line is supposed to allow the Bank of Canada Governor to exercise his/her powers without fear of political influence.

THE COMMENT

But our current Finance Minister, Mr. Flaherty, doesn’t seem to like those rules. He has repeatedly opened his mouth at inopportune times. Take last year, for example, when he publicly criticized Manulife Bank and BMO for advertising a 2.99% 5 yr fixed rate. He actually asked them to pull those ads! Not that they were the lowest 5 yr fixed rates at the time, but they were the lowest advertised rates by a major BANK. (as my regular readers know, mortgage brokers had lower rates… as they usually do). Continue reading “New threat of Rate hikes… it’s called Finance Minister Flaherty.”

Posted October 31, 2013 Mortgage News

You heard it here first!… Rule of thumb for choosing Variable over Fixed.

For the past few years, the Bank of Canada has warned us about the imminent interest rate hikes. Reminds me of the boy that cried wolf. “Interest rates are going up… soon!… real soon…. really, really soon!!” But last week, the new Bank of Canada Governor, Stephen Poloz, surprised many experts when he said rates would remain low for quite a while.

This announcement prompted many advisors to jump on the Variable Rate bandwagon and start recommending Variable rate over Fixed rate. I agree… Variable rate is the obvious choice for most of us today. But I also noticed a familiar rule of thumb being quoted in the media. So I wanted to set the record straight. Continue reading “You heard it here first!… Rule of thumb for choosing Variable over Fixed.”

Posted June 4, 2013 Bank News

Poloz in, Carney out as Bank of Canada Governor…3 major changes in less than a year!! Anyone else find this strange??!.

Stephen Poloz was announced as Mark Carney’s replacement as the new Bank of Canada Governor. The announcement was a surprise for many… Most thought the Deputy Governor, Tiff Macklem, would have been a more likely candidate. But Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, chose Poloz…. probably because he shares the same vision as Flaherty… tighter lending rules, higher rates.. etc..

But this article isn’t about why Poloz is in, and Macklem is out. I want to bring something else to your attention. Did you know that we have had 3 major changes in less than 6 months? Mark Carney is leaving Canada to head the Bank of England. Then, within 6 months, the head of OSFI, Julie Dickson, announced she will be leaving in 2014. And now Karen Kinsley, CEO of CMHC, has announced she is stepping down. I’ll add in a fourth.. Robert P. Kelly has come in as Chairperson of CMHC… You’ll need to read this to understand why this is relevant.

These are major changes folks. OSFI, CMHC and the Bank of Canada Governor. 3 major players that run and regulate Canada’s Financial and Banking sectors. Has anyone asked why they are all leaving now? Continue reading “Poloz in, Carney out as Bank of Canada Governor…3 major changes in less than a year!! Anyone else find this strange??!.”

Posted March 27, 2013 Consumer Debt

BMO caves in to Federal govt pressure and raises mortgage rate.

It was bound to happen. BMO announced their so-called ‘low-rate’ (NO FRILLS) 5 yr fixed rate mortgage would be increasing to 3.09% from 2.99%. This comes shortly after the Federal Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, said that he called BMO and asked them to pull their 2.99% ads. Last week, the Minister’s office asked Manulife Bank to withdraw their recent ad promoting a similar low rate.

While, 2.99% isn’t the best rate today, it was the lowest advertised rate from the BIG SIX BANKs. It was somewhat symbolic. Of course, Mortgage Brokers have access to even lower rates through the wholesale mortgage market, but these lenders don’t have the deep advertising pockets that BMO or the other BIG SIX BANKs have. So the publicity surrounding this rate and the increase will get much more air-time. You can actually find full-featured 5 year mortgages at 2.89% today, through a good mortgage broker (a word of warning.. I’ve seen lower rates offered, and I have access to these products… but these products are not full-featured and come with some limitations that make them less attractive… just be careful when choosing your mortgage and your mortgage broker)… Continue reading “BMO caves in to Federal govt pressure and raises mortgage rate.”

Posted January 24, 2013 Interest rates

Interest rates to stay low for longer than expected…

The, soon to be, ex-Bank of Canada Governor, Mark Carney, is leaving us with a present… During yesterday’s Rate Announcement, the first of eight regularly scheduled rate meetings this year, Carney said the economy is growing at a slower pace than expected…. we having a cooling housing market….. inflation remains low and is not an immediate concern…. Last but not least, he expects the economy will not reach it’s full capacity in late 2014 and that withdrawing any monetary policy stimulus is less imminent than previously anticipated.

End result, no rate hikes are expected til 2014… These comments come as a bit of a surprise given the Bank of Canada has wanted to raise rates for the past 2 years. Well, maybe it’s Carney’s way of giving us a departing present….Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth. Continue reading “Interest rates to stay low for longer than expected…”