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Cmhc Being Reigned In (Too Little, Way Too Late.)


ronthecivil

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Well Flaherty is finally trying to reign in the engine of our credit bubble, the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation. Bad news savers, everyone is going to get to feel the pinch for all the people that have been borrowing recklessly over the last decade...

Budget bill gives bank regulator oversight of CMHC

BILL CURRY

OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update

Published

Thursday, Apr. 26, 2012 11:50AM EDT

Last updated

Thursday, Apr. 26, 2012 1:04PM EDT

171 comments

Canada’s primary lender of taxpayer-backed mortgages is coming under tighter oversight, as new legislation will require Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. to report to the national banking regulator.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled a 421-page budget bill Thursday that provides new detail on a wide range of measures only hinted at in the Conservative government’s March 29 budget.

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One of the most anticipated aspects relates to the government’s decision to change the oversight structure for CMHC, which is expected to see its portfolio of mortgages grow well beyond $500-billion this year.

Under the current structure, CMHC is primarily overseen by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley. The budget legislation would give the finance minister a greater role in oversight and would make the Office of the Superintendant of Financial Institutions the main watchdog for CMHC.

“I’ve been concerned about CMHC for some time,” Mr. Flaherty told reporters in explaining the move.

The agency has “become an important financial institution in Canada and it was not subject to the same supervision by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, so I think this is an important step forward that OSFI will have that prudential responsibility with respect to CHMH.”

The legislation expands the objectives of CMHC to ensure its commercial activities promote and contribute to stability of the financial system, including the housing market. It would also require OSFI to review the safety and soundness of CMHC’s activities and report to the CMHC board of directors, as well as the ministers of finance and human resources.

Mr. Flaherty said the changes will not affect CMHC’s responsibilities for social housing.

The legislation includes a wide range of changes to federal environmental laws in an effort to speed approval of major economic projects. It also contains the legal measures required to increase the age of eligibility for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 starting in April 2023.

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Where are all these Asian people getting the money to buy multiple properties in this city? The problem, as I see it, isn't government assistance to allow lower income people to buy their own place, but speculators who don't even bother to occupy the homes they own. It's ridiculous.

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Where are all these Asian people getting the money to buy multiple properties in this city? The problem, as I see it, isn't government assistance to allow lower income people to buy their own place, but speculators who don't even bother to occupy the homes they own. It's ridiculous.

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  • 1 year later...

CMHC to take steam out of the housing market.

From the Globe and Mail:

Ottawa is taking new steps to cool the country’s housing market.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is limiting guarantees it offers banks and other lenders on mortgage-backed securities. The measure comes amid the federal government’s efforts to protect taxpayers from financial risks in the housing sector, further cool lending and add upward pressure to mortgage rates.

The Crown corporation has notified banks, credit unions and other mortgage lenders that they will each be restricted to a maximum of $350-million of new guarantees this month under its National Housing Act Mortgage-Backed Securities (NHA MBS) program. The decision comes in the wake of “unexpected demand” for the guarantees, a spokeswoman for CMHC said in an e-mailed statement.

At the start of this year, after consultations with CMHC, Mr. Flaherty said the Crown corporation could guarantee a maximum of $85-billion worth of new NHA MBS this year. By the end of July, lenders had already issued $66-billion worth of the securities, compared to $76-billion during all of 2012. As a result, CMHC is imposing the $350-million cap on each issuer effective immediately, while it comes up with a formal allocation process this month that it will put in place for the final four months of the year.

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It stopped being only about the housing market a while ago.

I will see your hurting the housing market and raise you crashing the economy and the revenues of the federal government while requiring massive amounts of rescue money to the CMHC, significant austerity to keep the system solvent, and a massive tightening of credit.

Basically what happened in the states, but worse. This is the price of having kicked the can down the road.

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Banks weren't stupid when they lent you all that money. During the next collapse you'll lose your home and you'll still have to owe on your home equity loan. Meanwhile the bank double-dips on your losses. Yay! At least we have 4 more years until the next bubble bursts.

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What percentage of mortgages in Canada are conventional mortgages, meaning > 20% down payment?

CMHC is required by law to insure all mortgages with less than 20% down payment.

As an example, a $400,000 home (below provincial average) requires $80,000 down to be classified as conventional.

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What percentage of mortgages in Canada are conventional mortgages, meaning > 20% down payment?

CMHC is required by law to insure all mortgages with less than 20% down payment.

As an example, a $400,000 home (below provincial average) requires $80,000 down to be classified as conventional.

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CMHC is a joke. my wife and I purchased a condo 2 years ago for $170,000 with a $13,000 down payment on a 30 year mortgage 3 year term @ 2.1% our payments are $605 per month that roughly translates to about 15% of our monthly income(most financial experts recommend never going higher than 35%).... but low and behold we don't have a 20% down payment so we had to pay a $5,000 premium to CMHC effectively eating up the little equity we did have in a mortgage that has literally a 0% chance of being defaulted on.

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Next bubble? When did the last bubble burst? There hasnt been a bubble burst in Vancouver and to say 4 years is ridiculous since every "expert" on the subject cant decide if its next week or next decade. There has been a slight dip in housing prices in the past few months and if that goes all the way to a 10% price drop its still nowhere near a bubble burst.

How many people have a home equity loan? Who would do that in the first place? If the only way you can swing that $100,000 renovation is through an equity loan you may want to think about what you are doing a bit more.

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