Originally Posted by Zeus

I think it's a great thing, to be honest. But I'm obviously a tad biased.

Yes, that is true. The big banks in Canada also actually kept a profit line during the recession, which was remarkable. US and European banks all reported losses. There are a lot of little differences here that make a big difference overall like mortgages being full recourse loans, not selling out loans to sub-prime borrowers, etc. We have five large banks in particular that control most of the banking in Canada, and during the recession they were able to communicate with each other and keep practices in line. There is also full insurance on mostly all mortgages, which covers the full amount. Although we recently had 40-yr amortization periods, that has been reduced to 35 yrs max and a 5% minimum downpayment is required. The smaller the downpayment on a mortgage, the higher the CMHC insurance premiums to insure the mortgage. I believe that CMHC insurance is mandatory on all mortgages where there is less than a 36% downpayment.

I was surprised to hear that Canadian banks are considered amongst the safest and most stable in the world, I wasn't aware of that before this.

They are continuing to post record profits...it would be nice to see those profits reflected in cheaper banking costs, that's for sure.