The mortgage payment deferral programs offered by lenders since March have been of tremendous help to many Canadians. While the economic stresses caused by COVID-19 have diminished in recent weeks, we anticipate that some mortgage holders in certain adversely
affected segments of Canada’s workforce will continue to find themselves unable to meet their mortgage obligations when the current six month deferral period expires. With the issues of those particular homeowners foremost in thought, MPC yesterday
sent a letter to Jeremy Rudin, Superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), requesting a six month extension of the capital provisions beyond the original six months outlined in its March 27, 2020 letter to
institutions which permit mortgage payment deferrals.
Assisting still-impacted families to retain ownership of their homes as Canada slowly but surely regains its footing will reduce the potential volume of property listings, thereby minimizing the resulting potential property value erosions predicted by
some economists. We have made clear in our letter that we recommend that, going forward, lenders should only extend a deferral period to those homeowners who genuinely need such relief due to actual, and not anticipated, COVID-related income loss.
We invite you to review the letter and welcome your comments.
