12  For example, in Canada discounted 5-year mortgage rates have declined by about 470 basis points since 2000, from just above 7.25 per cent to 2.55 per cent. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Credit conditions have been positively affected by financial liberalization and innovation.
Recent work by the International Monetary Fund has catalogued the related effects of these two factors on access to housing market finance and mortgage market development across countries.