Financial System Review Article

• December 15, 2015

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

  Financial System Review - December 2015 Gino Cateau, Tom Roberts, Jie Zhou

  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.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Financial stability, Housing, Recent economic and financial developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D14, E, E5, E51
• December 15, 2015

  Residential Mortgage Securitization in Canada: A Review

  Financial System Review - December 2015 Adi Mordel

  Residential mortgage securitization plays an important role in the Canadian system of housing finance, especially given the rising share of government-supported (i.e., public) securitization over the past 15 years. Mordel and Stephens analyze the evolution of two types of mortgage securitization in Canada— private and public — focusing in particular on the underlying public policy and economic benefits of the latter. They review the potential implications of the extent of public securitization and conclude with a discussion of policies that could be considered to reinvigorate private securitization in Canada.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Housing JEL Code(s): G, G2, G28