News, Views and Trends!
I’d like to think the Total Net Worth Program reintroduced by a lender recently is an indication of what’s to come!
I’m excited about this program. It allows borrowers with good net worth to gain access to money. This is old-school lending – nothing new – but it’s a comeback worth celebrating!
Continue reading “Is Common-Sense Lending Making a Comeback?!”
I reviewed some recent stats that explain how overall mortgage growth has fallen to its lowest level in the past 17 years!
Overall, mortgages outstanding across Canada total more than $1.5 trillion. And, while this total continues to increase year over year, the rate of growth has decreased. We should pay attention to this!
Typically, when we experience lower mortgage growth or no growth at all, house prices will follow suit and come down.
But, why aren’t the banks up in arms over this given that they make huge profits by lending money? (More on this below.)
Continue reading “Mortgage growth has slowed… so why are BANKS winning & CONSUMERS losing?”
There’s nothing surprising about the loosening of mortgage standards to spur growth. In the last real housing bubble of 1990, banks and government brought in stricter lending rules, making it tougher for borrowers to get a mortgage.
Fast forward to the present. We’ve yet to see a housing bubble or market crash, but the government has taken drastic – perhaps even unheard of – precautions to slow the housing market.
In 1990, I was working for the largest trust company in Canada. I can tell you that it has never been harder to qualify for a mortgage than it is today!
Continue reading “Looser Mortgage Standards Hit the UK! Is Canada Next?!”
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.”
