Banks and borrowers, Part 1: The great credit card paydown
“There is no clearer sign of the decline in consumer lending than the 20 per cent drop in Big-Six credit card balances from pre-COVID levels,” Dechaine said in a note this week. He estimates that a return to normal levels of profitability would represent an average earnings “uplift” of two per cent at Canada’s largest banks. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has the most upside potential at nearly double the industry average, he noted.Article contentBANKINGConsumer debt, it turns out, isn’t the only credit issue weighing on Canadian banks these days.
Fitch’s actions were the result of a decision in April of 2020 — a month after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, as governments opened their coffers to support the economy and companies began to load up on debt — to declare a negative outlook for Canada’s five largest banks. While the ratings agency expects to “resolve” the remaining negative outlooks within the next 12 months, Fitch said the operating environment will limit “upside rating potential.”Article contentFor the first time, Canada’s top cyber talent is heading to Athens to compete in the International Cyber Security Challenge this December. Two teams of qualifying student hackers will represent the country after they came out on top at the Canadian national finals that took place over the weekend.