Bank CEO worries shift to political uncertainty as mortgage risks ease
CTV
The heads of Canada's biggest banks are finally seeing risks around mortgage renewals easing, only for worries about tariffs and political uncertainty to take their place.
The heads of Canada's biggest banks are finally seeing risks around mortgage renewals easing, only for worries about tariffs and political uncertainty to take their place.
"I think the tariffs can do a lot of damage," RBC chief executive Dave McKay said Tuesday at a bank CEO conference hosted by RBC Capital Markets.
"It's disappointing to hear the rhetoric intensify, when we thought it was de-intensifying or mitigating to an extent."
The worry comes as incoming U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports over what he says is concerns around border security.
McKay said it's not just a question of whether the U.S. will impose tariffs, but whether they'll be broad or targeted, as well as how long they might stay in place.
"It's causing concern among everybody that it will do economic damage, and we're not sure the objectives it's trying to achieve," he said.
The bank is preparing for a variety of scenarios, said McKay.
