BIG BANKS RAISING PRIME RATES
The cost of loans linked to the big bank prime rates are headed higher in the wake of the Bank of Canada’s decision to raise its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point. The Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, CIBC and TD Canada Trust says they are raising their prime rates by a quarter of a percentage point after the BoC decision. The big four Canadian banks each raised their prime lending rates to 3.95 per cent from 3.70 per cent, effective Thursday. The increase raises the cost of loans with interest rates linked to the prime rate such as variable-rate mortgages and home equity lines of credit. The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.75 per cent. It was the fifth time since the summer of 2017 that the BoC has raised the trendsetting rate.