Tag archives: Bank of Canada

Canadian credit market overview: despite slowing growth, many aspects still on the rise

By Russell Dufault (Toronto) on September 25, 2019 Posted in Finance

The Bank of Canada (BoC) recently announced its decision to maintain the overnight rate target at 1 ¾%– while the Bank Rate and deposit rate are 2% and 1 ½% respectively – resulting in no shortage of backlash. In its press release, the BoC cites the escalation of international trade conflict as a factor in … Continue reading

Borrowers, beware: Bank of Canada announces interest rate hike

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 24, 2018 Posted in Financial institutions, M&A

Recently, Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz announced an increase in the interest rate from 1.25% to 1.5%. The increase comes as the Bank of Canada predicts a continued growth in the Canadian economy from exports and business investments. However, household spending may represent a smaller percentage of future economic growth due to the effects … Continue reading

The interesting thing about M&A is…

By Bruce Sheiner on November 16, 2017 Posted in Finance, M&A

Many predicted that 2017 would be another record year for Canadian mergers and acquisitions (M&A). There are also currently some predictions that interest rates will continue to rise despite the recent announcement of a contraction in the economy. In this blog post we consider these two factors. As depicted in Figure 1 below, while 2017 … Continue reading

Additional interest: M&A activity following the Bank of Canada’s interest rate increase

By Denise Gan (Toronto) on September 7, 2017 Posted in M&A

For a second time this year, the Bank of Canada (the Bank) has raised interest rates. As of September 6, 2017, the overnight lending rate is 1 per cent, up from 0.75 per cent. Two increases in a single quarter certainly bucks the trend that the Bank had been setting since 2010. Before July 12, … Continue reading

What a Bank of Canada interest rate hike means for dealmakers

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 12, 2017 Posted in M&A

On July 12, 2017, the Bank of Canada raised its overnight lending rate to 0.75 per cent from 0.5 per cent. This was the first such increase in almost 7 years, after a prolonged policy of fiscal stimulus in the wake of the economic recession. While the need for an interest rate hike in the … Continue reading

Bank of Canada maintains historically low overnight rates and reserved outlook for 2017 and 2018

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on December 22, 2016 Posted in M&A

On December 7, the Bank of Canada (the Bank) announced that it will be maintaining its overnight rate at 0.5%, closing out a year of historically low interest rates. The overnight rate is the interest rate at which large institutions, including banks, lend money amongst themselves and is one of the main levers that the … Continue reading

Dealmaking in a negative interest rate environment

By Matthew Lau (Toronto) on March 8, 2016 Posted in Corporate finance, Finance

The term “negative interest rates” was introduced into the Canadian vocabulary on December 8, 2015, when the Bank of Canada announced that it would be willing to use this “unconventional monetary policy tool” in the event of economic crisis. With the current benchmark interest rate of 0.5% already near historic lows, this announcement suggests that … Continue reading

Canada’s approach to the Eurozone crisis

By Troy Ungerman (Toronto) on July 9, 2012 Posted in Finance

The most recent EU summit took place in late June, leading to an agreement among leaders to create a joint banking supervisory body for the Eurozone and implement a planned bailout fund for struggling banks. While analysts have applauded these steps as key achievements toward steadying markets in both the short and long term, questions … Continue reading