News

The Bank of Canada's Annual Report for 2007 was tabled in the House of Commons today.

More than seven months after financial market turbulence began, policy-makers and market participants are entering a new phase, where shortcomings in the current system are better understood and improvements are beginning to be made, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said today in a speech to the Toronto Board of Trade.

Since last summer, many of us here today have been preoccupied with the ongoing dislocations in financial markets. What began in securities linked to U.S. subprime mortgages has spread to a broad range of structured assets, conventional credit markets, and, to a lesser extent, equities.

Let me start by saying that the issue of internal trade barriers is critically important, and I'm very pleased, Mr. Chairman, that your committee is examining it. We have reviewed previous submissions to this committee, and you will see that our focus will be slightly different.

The Bank of Canada is seeking comments from direct participants in the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) and other interested parties on the proposed eligibility criteria for accepting asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) as collateral for the Bank of Canada's Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF).