Canada’s High Debt Levels Pose Risk To Financial Stability: HSBC

Is Canada’s high debt a worry? With its household debt-to-GDP ratio remaining the highest in G7 and with its large current account deficit, Canada looks more vulnerable to disruptions to global capital flows than when it was leading up to the financial crisis of 2007-08, notes HSBC. In his October 7 research piece titled “Owe Canada: the air is getting thin,” David Watt said he believes the low rate backdrop should be leveraged to trim the vulnerability of households.

Canada’s high debt: Bank for International Settlements sounds warning bell on Canada’s debt

Watt points out that Canada’s non-financial sector debt has shot up to 294% of GDP in 2016 Q2, up from 288% in Q1. Mirroring Canada’s non-financial private sector borrowing heavily...