Notes on Canadian interest rates
Bank Rate
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- From November 1, 1956 to June 24, 1962 the Bank Rate was 1/4 of 1% above the weekly average tender rate of 91-day treasury bills.
- From March 13, 1980 to February 21, 1996 the Bank Rate was 1/4 of 1% above the weekly average tender of 91-day treasury bills.
- Since February 22, 1996, it is set at the upper limit of the Bank of Canada’s operating band for the overnight financing rate.
Overnight Money Market Financing (7-Day Average)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- The rate is the Bank of Canada estimate at which investment dealers were able to arrange most of their overnight financing of money market inventory, excluding chartered bank day-to-day loans and purchase and resale agreements with the Bank of Canada.
- The rates shown are a seven-day average for the week ending with the last Wednesday of the month.
Prime Corporate Paper Rate – 1 & 3 Month (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- Before April 1973, the rates are averages of rates posted for 30-day paper by major finance company participants in the market.
- From July 1966 to March 1973, the average was weighted by the amount of paper outstanding for each of the finance companies in the average; previously, it was unweighted.
- Between March 1973 and February 1979, the rate shown is the Bank of Canada’s best estimate of operative market trading levels, on the last Wednesday of the month, for major finance company paper borrowers.
- As of January 2019, the Bank of Canada will no longer publish the daily, weekly or monthly prime commercial paper rates.
- The Prime Corporate Paper (or commercial paper) rate is an indicative rate only. It is derived from generic quotes (not transaction-based data) obtained from a subset of dealers on the date indicated and does not reflect a particular category of issuer. The rates published by the Bank of Canada are provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as benchmarks for transactional purposes. The published rates may not equal quotes obtained from individual dealers or actual traded levels.
Bankers’ Acceptances – 1 Month (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- The rates shown are mid-market rates for typical quotes on the last Wednesday of the month.
- As of January 2019, the Bank of Canada will no longer publish the daily, weekly or monthly bankers’ acceptance (BA) rates. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) will start publishing for informational purposes only the 1- and 3-month transaction based BA rates on the same date.
- The bankers' acceptances rates published by the Bank of Canada are derived from indicative quotes obtained from various money market dealers around mid-day, and are intended to be representative of mid-market levels for BAs at that time. However, they are not necessarily equal to quotes obtained from individual dealers or to actual traded levels.
Commercial Certificates of Deposits – 30 & 90 Day (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
The rates shown are based on actual rates of large transactions at the major chartered banks on the last Wednesday of the month.
Commercial Certificates of Deposits – 90 Day (Average, Last Week of Month) (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- Before November 1970, the rates shown are averages of typical posted rates on large deposits on the last Wednesday of the month. At times, actual rates paid were in excess of these posted rates.
- Between November 1970 and May 1972, and since December 1974, the rates are based on actual rates of large transactions at the major chartered banks for the week ending with the last Wednesday of the month.
- Between June 1972 and December 1974, the rates shown were those prevailing under the Winnipeg agreement.
Trust Company Administered Interest Rates – Guaranteed Investment Certificates – 5 Year (Average of Wednesdays) (Terminated)
Source: 1951 to 1963, Royal Commission on Banking and Finance, Appendix Volume, page 230, 1964; Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- The rates shown for 1951 to 1960 are the average rates paid during each quarter by the principal trust companies.
- From 1961 to 1963, they are the average rates at month‐end. Third and fourth quarters of 1963 have been estimated.
- For 1964 and 1965, the data are averages of the rates quoted on the last Wednesday of each month.
- Since January 1966, the rates shown are monthly averages of the weekly rates quoted by a number of large trust companies.
Trust Company Administered Interest Rates – Guaranteed Investment Certificates – 5 Year (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
The rates shown are averages of the rates quoted by a number of large trust companies, on the last Wednesday of the month.
Mortgage Lending Rates – Average Residential Mortgage – 5 Year (Terminated)
Source: Bank of Canada, Data and Statistics Office
- Before 1978, the conventional mortgage rate shown is a simple average of rates charged by a number of large institutional lenders, including chartered banks for residential mortgage loans as at midmonth.
- Between 1967 and 1970, the average rate shown includes rates for twenty-five year mortgages.
- Before 1967 the average rate shown is exclusively for twenty-five year mortgages.
- Effective December 2017, v122497 has been terminated. This data is available on Statistics Canada’s CANSIM Table 027-0015 “Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, conventional mortgage lending rate, 5-year term”.