February 23, 2012 What Explains Trends in Household Debt in Canada? Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2011-2012 Allan Crawford, Umar Faruqui 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 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 Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2011-2012 Jeannine Bailliu, Katya Kartashova, Césaire Meh 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. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Domestic demand and components, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E2, E21, E5, E51, H, H3, H31
February 23, 2012 Medium-Term Fluctuations in Canadian House Prices Bank of Canada Review - Winter 2011-2012 Brian Peterson, Yi Zheng This article draws on theory and empirical evidence to examine a number of factors behind movements in Canadian house prices. It begins with an overview of the movements in house prices in Canada, using regional data to highlight factors that influence prices over the long run. It then turns to the central theme, that there are medium-run movements in prices not accounted for by long-run factors. Drawing on recent Bank of Canada research, the article discusses several factors behind these medium-run movements, including interest rates, expected price appreciation and market liquidity. The article concludes by identifying areas for future research that would further our understanding of fluctuations in house prices. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Asset pricing, Econometric and statistical methods, Market structure and pricing JEL Code(s): R, R2, R21, R3, R31
December 21, 2008 Good Policies or Good Fortune: What Drove the Compression in Emerging- Market Spreads? Financial System Review - December 2008 Philipp Maier, Garima Vasishtha Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles
June 21, 2008 A Model of Tiered Settlement Networks Financial System Review - June 2008 James Chapman, Jonathan Chiu, Miguel Molico Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles
December 14, 2009 Towards a Stress-Testing Model Consistent with the Macroprudential Approach Financial System Review - December 2009 Céline Gauthier, Alfred Lehar, Moez Souissi Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles
June 21, 2009 Procyclicality and Margin Requirements Financial System Review - June 2009 Nadja Kamhi Content Type(s): Publications, Financial System Review articles
January 17, 2012 Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases
A Model of the EFA Liabilities Staff Discussion Paper 2011-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Oumar Dissou The authors describe the liabilities model of the Exchange Fund Account (EFA). The EFA is managed using an asset-liability matching framework that requires currency and duration matching of both sides of the balance sheet. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Debt management, Foreign reserves management JEL Code(s): G, G1, G12, G3, G32
December 22, 2011 Results of the 22 December 2011 Term Repo Operation for Balance Sheet Management Purposes Results of today's term repo for balance sheet management purposes operation. Content Type(s): Press, Market notices