First, because the total amount of debt carried by Canadian households is so large, we know that it will be with us for a long time. Second, a large share of this debt is with highly indebted households.
And third, the decline in global bond yields since the beginning of the year has lowered Canadian mortgage rates, so household borrowing is likely to pick up again. The Bank is also closely monitoring the risk that stricter mortgage guidelines are shifting consumers away from federally regulated institutions and toward private lenders and credit unions, some of which are not following the federal guidelines.