Canadian banks get ultra-long loans under control

Making progress: Canadians watching the Maple Leafs in an ice hockey outdoor practice session at the Toronto City Hall. The office of the superintendent of financial institutions says the country’s lenders are doing well with handling mortages. — AP

MONTREAL: The rapid run-up in mortgages during the pandemic represents a “pocket of risk” to the financial system, but Canadian lenders are starting to get the problem of ultra-long home loans under control, according to the country’s bank watchdog.

“During the Covid years, the principal unintended consequence of what we went through was this buildup in mortgage underwritings,” Peter Routledge, who heads the office of the superintendent of financial institutions, said at a National Bank of Canada financial services conference in Montreal.