Canada’s Superintendent of Financial Institutions has responded to calls for lower requirements on mortgage applicants, saying that lenders need to keep the “stress test” to ensure applicants will be able to pay their mortgages come what may, and to protect the nation’s financial system from risky loans.
“Some have understandably argued that [we] should lower or eliminate the [stress test],” said Peter Routledge, superintendent of financial institutions, in a statement Dec. 9. “They suggest that mortgage rates may be peaking and that the [stress test] puts an undue burden on homebuyers.”
