Bank of Canada announces 0.50% rate cut

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is lowering its target for the overnight rate by 0.50%, to 1.25%. The last time the Bank of Canada interest rate dropped by that much was 11 years ago, during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.

James Laird, Co-founder of Ratehub.ca and President of CanWise Financial mortgage brokerage, says this is one of the most significant Bank of Canada announcements in recent history.

“In a strong move, the Bank of Canada announced they are cutting the key overnight rate by 50 basis points to 1 ¼ percent. This is the first time the Bank has lowered the rate since 2015 and not since the financial crisis has the bank dropped by 50 basis points in a single move. The evolving spread of the coronavirus has the Bank concerned about business investment, consumer confidence, and overall economic growth. Also, inflation in January was higher than expected.”

James Laird says the prospect of future rate drops isn’t out of the question.

“The Bank says they are ready to adjust monetary policy further…This suggests additional rate cuts may follow this year.

“Consumers who currently have a variable rate will see their mortgage payments drop once Canadian mortgage lenders adjust their prime rates, likely this week. The expectation is that prime rates will drop by the full 50 basis points, although there have been times when lenders have not passed along the full savings to their customers.

“The Bank’s stance will cause bond yields to continue to decrease which means Canadians shopping for a fixed-rate mortgage can expect rates to fall and will likely approach the record lows of 2016. Anyone shopping for a home should check rates frequently as they will continue to decrease through the spring. The home buying process will become even more difficult as the low rates will increase buying power and bring more demand into the already hot market.”