Canadian Bank Mortgage Rates- What’s Happening

Because of the entire COVID-19 pandemic that has wiped over the globe, oil rates weren’t the only thing to decrease. Canadian bank mortgage rates have also substantially gone down to lows that haven’t been seen in a while.

It’s now being reported that there are lenders that are now beginning to increase various bank’s mortgage rates.

The fixed rates for specific term mortgages have been steadily increasing, and at the same time, the bigger banks are also starting to lower the discounts they’ve been giving on prime rates mortgages. This also has an impact on floating rates.

Scotiabank is a good example of this. They’ve recently increased their 5-year variable rate mortgage by 60 points.

Many other lenders have joined the club by getting rid of the discounts they’ve been offering from around 20 to 75 points. A good example of this is that a brand new borrower would’ve been able to get a 5-year variable mortgage at around 1.00% or 2.45%. By today’s standards, that exact same rate is currently 0.25% or 3.20%.

A lot of people in the financial world are extremely curious about what’s happening. There’s been a lot of fear that’s surrounding the market and lenders are worried about liquidity.

Banks are becoming more and more scared of losses throughout the pandemic. Just like any business, banks need a way to make money. If the banks suddenly suspect they won’t be able to do that, the default rate will increase substantially. As a result, rates will increase so that they’ll feel more protected.

A lot of people will also be dealing with financial issues related to layoffs because of COVID-19. This will result in them having to dig into their credit.

Many businesses are looking to their lines of credit to stay afloat while all of this is happening. People are completely maxing out their credit cards and living payment to payment. When you are having to constantly borrow money, the system will be affected. Because of all of this, banks could be impacted by everyone seeking credit. Financing the credit could become a major issue to deal with.

The capital requirements for banks have even been lowered as a result of all of these issues. This means that an extra $300 billion of lending capital is available.

Markets are hovering around the 0.25% lending rate throughout Canada. The current markets are forecasting and pricing in a 50-bps cut. Funding variable-rate mortgages still need to take place for many people, so banks are beginning to raise the discount from prime.

These aren’t things that banks haven’t done before. A similar scenario also happened in 2008 during the credit crisis. TD rates were under the prime level and there was a 100-bps increase in prime + 1.00%.

Tips For Mortgage Shoppers

If you’re looking for the best bank mortgage rates and are wanting to purchase a home, you might want to consider getting a rate hold as soon as you can. Bank mortgage rates fluctuate all of the time, and they are even more unsteady over the past year due to the pandemic.

If you see a rate that you think might suit your financial situation, you should just lock it in right away. If you decide to change it, you can always do that, as well.

Most fixed rates aren’t increased at the same pace as variable rates are, but there’s always the chance that they still can. You should get a guaranteed rate while you still can before things decide to change again as they all too often do.

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