On May 30, 2016, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its first quarter financial results as well as supplemental data on the Corporation’s Mortgage Loan Insurance, Securitization, and Covered Bonds business activities.
Report Highlights
- During the first quarter, CMHC provided mortgage loan insurance for over 83,000 units across the country.
- Total insurance-in-force was $520 billion as at March 31, 2016, a $6 billion decrease from year-end 2015. CMHC has a legislated insurance-in-force limit of $600 billion.
- The average insured loan amount for transactional homeowner mortgages in the quarter was $238,632.
- Homebuyers with CMHC-insured mortgages have a strong ability to manage their debts as evidenced by an average credit score of 747 for transactional homeowner loans and an average gross debt service (GDS) ratio of 25.8% for the three-months ended March 31, 2016.
- The strength of CMHC’s portfolio is reflected in the overall arrears rate which, as at March 31, 2016, stood at 0.34%. Nationally, CMHC’s arrears rate has remained relatively stable; although there has been a small increase in arrears in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
- New securities guaranteed for the first quarter were $21.8 billion, comprised of $12.6 billion for market NHA MBS and $9.2 billion for CMB. CMHC’s total guarantees-in-force were $429 billion as at the end of the first quarter 2016.
Subsequent to quarter’s end, Fort McMurray, Alberta was affected by wildfires. CMHC has provided lenders with a number of options to support CMHC-insured homeowners touched by these unfortunate events.
CMHC also works closely with provinces, territories and housing providers, including First Nations, to help low-income Canadians access affordable, better quality housing. For the three-month period ended March 31, 2016 CMHC provided more than $589 million for housing programs on behalf of the Government of Canada.
