“Canada’s banking system is often lauded for being one of the world’s safest. But an analysis by CCPA senior economist David Macdonald found that Canada’s major lenders were in a far worse position during the downturn than has ever been previously believed.
Macdonald pored over data provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the big banks themselves for his report published Monday.
It says support for Canadian banks from various agencies reached $114 billion at its peak. That works out to $3,400 for every man, woman and child in Canada, and also to seven per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product in 2009.
The figure is also 10 times the size of the amount Canadian taxpayers spent on the auto industry in 2009.
“At some point during the crisis, three of Canada’s banks — CIBC, BMO, and Scotiabank — were completely under water, with government support exceeding the market value of the company,” Macdonald said. “Without government supports to fall back on, Canadian banks would have been in serious trouble.”
MacDonlad explains his findings in this clip. Here is a direct link.
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During the GFC of ‘8-’09, I mused about what sector(s) of the economy would experience the next bubble due to the great reflation that was sure to follow. So, higher education became one such sector where easy credit worked its dark magic.
The truly sad part about this mess (aside from the financial burdens it is causing) is that people are now attacking the very concept of higher education. I’m hearing it more and more. For the most part, the critics don’t seem to understand what higher educate is really for, particularly outside of highly specialized fields such as medicine, law and applied sciences.
It would really worry me if society eschewed higher education because the benefits are not directly and immediately linked to a certain type of job. It’s another case of mismatched expectations, currently magnified by an economy in transition.
5 or 6 Months ago I was concerned why the IMF was warning PM Harper regarding Canada’s economic and financial state. Now we know a little more. What free and transparent democracy?
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