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92 Results

May 6, 2016

Stress Prevention: Central Banks and Financial Stability

Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Joint Workshop: Bank of Canada, International Monetary Fund, Centre for International Governance Innovation, and Peterson Institute for International Economics Ottawa, Ontario
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses central banks and the maintenance of financial stability.
December 15, 2015

Indebted Households and Potential Vulnerabilities for the Canadian Financial System: A Microdata Analysis

Over the past decade, an increasing proportion of households in Canada have become highly indebted relative to their income. These highly indebted households now hold one-fifth of total Canadian household debt.Simulations suggest that this greater degree of household indebtedness could exacerbate the impact of shocks to income and interest rates relative to the pre-crisis period. However, an assessment of the vulnerability of the Canadian financial system should, among other factors, account for the ability of Canadian financial institutions to withstand losses from the household sector.
August 25, 2015

The Long-Term Evolution of House Prices: An International Perspective

Remarks Lawrence L. Schembri Canadian Association for Business Economics Kingston, Ontario
Deputy Governor Lawrence Schembri discusses the international evidence of underlying determinants of long-term movements in house prices.
February 23, 2012

What Explains Trends in Household Debt in Canada?

Similar to the experiences in many other countries, household indebtedness in Canada has exhibited an upward trend over the past 30 years. Both mortgage and non-mortgage (consumer) credit have contributed to this development. In this article, the authors use microdata to highlight the main factors underlying the strong trend increase since the late 1990s. Favourable housing affordability, owing to factors such as income growth and low interest rates, has supported significant increases in home-ownership rates and mortgage debt. Much of the rise in consumer credit has been facilitated by higher housing values (used as collateral for loans) and financial innovation that makes it easier for households to access this credit.
Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Research Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D14, E, E5, E51
February 23, 2012

Household Borrowing and Spending in Canada

Understanding how much of the increased debt load of Canadian households has been used to finance household spending on consumption and home renovation is important for the conduct of monetary policy. In this article, the authors use a comprehensive data set that provides information on the uses of debt by Canadian households. They first present some facts regarding the evolution of Canadian household debt over the period from 1999 to 2010, emphasizing the increased importance of debt flows that are secured by housing. They then explore how Canadian households have used their borrowed funds over the same period, and assess the role of these borrowed funds in financing total consumption and spending on home renovation. Finally, they examine the possible effects of a decline in house prices on consumption when housing equity is used as collateral against household indebtedness.
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