Big five banks hiking their prime rates to 4.70%
BNN Bloomberg
Royal Bank of Canada was the first of the big banks to announce it will hike its prime lending rate following the Bank of Canada’s larger-than-expected increase to its benchmark rate.
RBC, TD Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank will raise their prime rates by a full percentage point to 4.70 per cent, from 3.70 per cent, effective Thursday. Prime rates are tied to many types of loans including variable mortgage rates, home equity lines of credit and auto loans.
It’s typical to see the major Canadian banks follow in the footsteps of the central bank and adjust their prime rates in lockstep.
“This means that anyone with a variable-rate mortgage or home equity line of credit (HELOC) will see their rate rise accordingly. This group should calculate what their new payment will be with this rate hike and also budget for further hikes this year,” James Laird, co-chief executive officer of Ratehub.ca, said in a release Wednesday.
