It’s not April 1st yet is it?
Because this article in the Globe and Mail reads like some sort of weird parody.
Canada’s Finance Minister has taken his battle against a housing bubble an extraordinary step further, issuing rare praise for the country’s banks for not matching Bank of Montreal’s cut-rate mortgages
What?
Ottawa is growing concerned the banks could end up causing the housing market to overheat, especially after Mr. Flaherty has gone to great lengths to cool the market over the past year.
Could overheat? What brand of rear-view mirror are they using? Maybe if you didn’t use taxpayer money to ensure that they make money from mortgage business but take not risk of loss thanks to the CMHC that would help cool the market a smidge?
Mr. Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney have waged an all-out war against the massive build-up in consumer debt to record levels. Along with Mr. Flaherty’s restrictions – which reduced the maximum amortization on mortgages last year to 25 years, down from 30 – the central bank went so far as to warn it could raise interest rates to tame the borrowing binge.
All out war?!? This gets better and better! They reduced amorts to 25 years but who jacked them up to 30 in the first place? And warning that rates could go up? Boy, that’s tough!
Battling a housing bubble by undoing the things you did to fuel it is a bit like thinking that getting rid of your slingshot should be enough to un-break all those windows you shot out.
“I encourage responsible lending,” Mr. Flaherty said Friday. “I think that the financial institutions of course are major players in the residential mortgage market and it forms a major part of their asset portfolios and the Government of Canada has a lot to say about it, not only because we’re concerned about the economic fiscal health of the country, but also we have CMHC [the federal mortgage insurer] and many of those mortgages held by the private sector financial institutions are insured with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.”
Maybe via the CMHC you’re encouraging too much lending, responsible and not.
And here’s the punchline:
Mr. Flaherty’s praise of BMO’s rivals may be somewhat off target, though, since most of the lending sector is quietly offering the same rates as BMO, mortgage professionals say
Phew. Is that enough stupid for your monday morning?
