Economic news

Canada resists call to ease mortgage stress test for uninsured home buyers

2022.12.15 16:15



© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A realtor’s for sale sign stands outside a house that had been sold in Toronto, Ontario, Canada May 20, 2021. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

(Reuters) -Canada’s main banking regulator on Thursday said it would launch a review of its mortgage guidelines for uninsured borrowers in January but left a stress test unchanged, citing an uncertain economic environment.

Canadian mortgage rates have more than doubled from last year, sparking calls to drop the strict rules and offer relief to home buyers. But the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said the minimum qualifying rate (MQR) for uninsured mortgage borrowers would stay at 5.25%. This makes the benchmark either the rate the borrower pays plus 200 basis points or 5.25%, whichever is greater.

That means home buyers must show that they can service mortgages at 7% as mortgage rates stand around 5%. It also reduces the size of mortgage loan that a borrower can obtain.

“We expect to leave the MQR at its current rate pending the outcome of the review, although the economic environment could result in a more immediate change,” the regulator said.

OSFI introduced new rules in 2017, known as B-20, that tightened qualification for uninsured mortgages, in which borrowers are required to make at least a 20% down payment.

“Maintaining the minimum qualifying rate supports prudent underwriting standards for insured mortgages and builds in a buffer for home buyers in case of changing economic or personal circumstances,” said Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Canada’s housing market has gone cold, with buyers sidelined by soaring borrowing costs and sellers holding off listing in hopes of a spring rally. Home prices fell for a ninth straight month in November, taking the decline from February’s peak to 11.5%, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Thursday.

Reducing or eliminating the minimum qualifying rate requirement would increase risk in the financial system amid economic uncertainty, said Carl De Souza at DBRS Morningstar.

Canadian banks have increased their bad debt provisions as they brace for challenging economic times, their latest earnings showed.

“We view the announcement positively since the mortgage stress test has effectively added a margin of safety that improved borrowers’ ability to absorb interest rate increases,” De Souza said.



Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 74,813.04 9.03%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,599.12 7.05%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.12%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 185.65 15.76%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 581.58 4.18%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.24%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.207589 25.36%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.534151 5.18%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,592.42 6.90%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.16235 0.15%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.36081 9.27%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.79 4.17%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000019 10.18%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,061.66 6.79%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 74,546.97 8.90%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 26.29 13.77%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,597.60 7.10%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 377.91 12.87%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 11.77 12.32%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.32 20.69%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.07 6.62%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.12 0.88%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.985026 1.54%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 8.94 29.61%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 69.89 4.56%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 4.18 14.02%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.25 13.08%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,732.42 6.98%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000009 15.96%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.96 11.55%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 509.97 19.59%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.38 20.59%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.10%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.119249 13.26%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 158.88 0.68%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.096682 5.75%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 19.19 7.24%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 0.999652 0.04%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.42 2.57%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.68 12.05%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.321716 8.11%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.46 20.76%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 1.00 0.23%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 38.88 4.20%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 153.78 17.32%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.081707 14.29%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.63 8.59%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.523644 8.81%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.582472 4.90%
immutable-x
Immutable (IMX) $ 1.17 8.91%