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本帖最后由 heysheep 于 2010-5-14 08:44 编辑
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8 g8 W$ b6 z' R2 z( e- i8 LCanada’s household debt hit a new record of $1.41 trillion in December, with no signs the recession has altered consumers’ willingness to borrow, creating warning signs for the economy, a survey found. - U1 `# s l: m! P2 Y, D
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If the debt were spread across all Canadians, each person would owe $41,740, that’s two and a half times more than two decades ago, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada said.
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9 N H- I! `" B5 y! M' J3 g! S' PThe levels put Canada at the top of the 20 OECD nations in terms of debt-to-financial assets and puts their debt-to-income ratio at 144%, the survey found.
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5 ^' p8 {3 N, H* T Z* e7 K/ l2 g"Canadian households' use of financing is one of the few things that did not noticeably adjust to a changing economic reality," said Rock Lefebvre, vice president of research and standards at CGA-Canada and co-author of the report. "The growth in household debt has been strong during good times and showed remarkable resilience during challenging times."
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- G4 C/ {1 W. q5 UThe survey found that 60% of respondents who said their debt had increased during the recession and 92% whose debt had remained the same or declined, still felt comfortable about their ability to borrow more.
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High levels of household debt have raised alarm bells among policymakers and at the Bank of Canada. The government recently introduced new restrictions on mortgage lending to make it harder to take on excessive debt to buy property.
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“There is little doubt that the level of financial stress on Canadian households has increased and that a further run up in household debt without a corresponding growth in assets or income will exert a circular pressure on the economy and financial systems,” it said.
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! l& k( T: q. _Interest rates, which were slashed to historic lows to stimulate growth after the 2008 financial slump, are expected to begin rising in June.
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% Q! X+ o# j1 F* IA two percentage point rise in rates would mid-income and mid-to-high income families to cut their expenses between 9% and 11% to make ends meet, it said. |
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