Interest Rate Fears Overblown?

As a collection agency Edmonton, collection agency Calgary and collection agency GTA we are watching with keen interest the unfolding of events with respect to these phenomenon and their impact (or lack thereof) on Canadian credit markets.

Trudeau Officials are fearing the impact of speedy rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. Officials within Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government are concerned the Bank of Canada is moving too quickly to raise interest rates, fearing higher borrowing costs could inadvertently trigger a downturn. Governor Stephen Poloz raised the central bank’s key overnight rate on July 12, 2017 for the first time since 2010, and another increase is expected by the end of the year. Officials are speaking anonymously because they’re not authorized to comment and are concerned a series of rate hikes would lead consumers to claw back spending, stunting a recovery from a two-year oil shock.

While Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau have steadfastly declined to comment on monetary policy, as is customary, some officials privately think Poloz hiked too soon. The concern comes amid global warnings that an era of rock-bottom interest rates has left consumers and countries alike over-leveraged and more vulnerable than ever to hikes.

There’s no sign the government will intervene publicly in any way. The discontent however, also seems to signal that Trudeau and Morneau also don’t plan to rein in a spending program, focused on infrastructure and payments to families, that’s projected to result in deficits totaling C$102 billion over the Liberal government’s first four fiscal years. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/2uUftZn

Irrespective of how economic events unfold we strongly encourage our clients to maintain resiliency on their aging accounts receivable in Alberta and not allow the tepid improvement in the provincial economy in the first half of 2017 in any way be misread as a signal that “happy days are here again.”