Banking in Canada can be a murky subject – one that we hope to shed some light on with a series of highly informational articles.
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Canada’s best travel credit cards 2022 May 25th
With a good travel credit card in your name, going on a trip can suddenly become more affordable (when you are ready to travel again, of course). And, you can get even more value if you sign up for the right travel credit card—one that doesn’t just focus on points, but also has perks such as lou.... More »
How to Keep Your Data Secure When You (and Hackers) Live on Social Media Jan 26th
Much like how you wouldn’t share your toothbrush with someone else, the same sentiment should be applied to sensitive information like online passwords, personal identification numbers (PIN), or credit card details. And as there are reportedly more than 2.5 billion active users worldwide on socia.... More »
How to build credit history in Canada Jun 30th
A credit history is a person’s track record of using credit (borrowing money) and repaying debt. Your credit history can affect many aspects of your financial life—from getting approved for a credit card or renting an apartment to taking out a mortgage or a car loan, among other things. In some .... More »
How to build a core couch potato portfolio Sep 4th
You can build a couch-potato portfolio in three simple ways—using index mutual funds, index ETFs, or asset-allocation ETFs.
But before we dive into these further, an important note. The following options are meant to illustrate sample portfolios and do not constitute financial advice. If .... More »
Applying for a credit card: What you need to know Oct 6th
There are many great reasons to carry a credit card. Beyond the convenience and purchase protection included with many credit card purchases, they’re also important financial tools for establishing your credit history and borrowing money—both of which you’ll need if you want to make a major pu.... More »
Should I Get a Variable or Fixed Mortgage? RBC Cuts Rates and the Answer is No Longer Clear
– ratesupermarket.ca
Last week, Canada’s biggest bank, RBC, cut its five-year fixed rate by 15 basis points. This gave customers the option to lock in their mortgage rate at 3.74 per cent, for a five-year term. And surely enough, TD Bank and BMO Bank of Montreal followed suit and cut their five-year fixed rates to the same level. Currently, CIBC is asking all customers to call in for more details on its five-year fixed rate, and Scotiabank is not showing the same 15-basis-point cut.
The move by some of Canada’s commercial banks is overdue. Unlike variable-rate loans that are affected by the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate, fixed rates are tied to the bond market, and bond yields have been sinking over the last two months.
The yield for the Government of Canada benchmark five-year bond fell from a high of 2.48 per cent last October to a low of 1.76 per cent on January 3. At the time of writing this article, the bond yield has recovered slightly but still remains lower than two per cent. This means it’s cheaper for commercial banks to borrow money at a fixed rate and, therefore, they can pass down those interest rate savings to their mortgage customers…
Should I Get a Variable or Fixed Mortgage? RBC Cuts Rates and the Answer is No Longer Clear
– ratesupermarket.ca
Last week, Canada’s biggest bank, RBC, cut its five-year fixed rate by 15 basis points. This gave customers the option to lock in their mortgage rate at 3.74 per cent, for a five-year term. And surely enough, TD Bank and BMO Bank of Montreal followed suit and cut their five-year fixed rates to the same level. Currently, CIBC is asking all customers to call in for more details on its five-year fixed rate, and Scotiabank is not showing the same 15-basis-point cut.
The move by some of Canada’s commercial banks is overdue. Unlike variable-rate loans that are affected by the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate, fixed rates are tied to the bond market, and bond yields have been sinking over the last two months.
The yield for the Government of Canada benchmark five-year bond fell from a high of 2.48 per cent last October to a low of 1.76 per cent on January 3. At the time of writing this article, the bond yield has recovered slightly but still remains lower than two per cent. This means it’s cheaper for commercial banks to borrow money at a fixed rate and, therefore, they can pass down those interest rate savings to their mortgage customers…
