Canadians paid $9 billion more in interest charges in 2017 than in 2016
Canadians owed $1.69 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income
Half of respondents in debt said they are stressed about their level of indebtedness
Higher interest rates appear to have slowed household borrowings
The 1.68-percentage point decline marks the biggest improvement on record
Worries about the amount Canadians owe have begun to pull back
More than a quarter of Canadians surveyed said they would rather leave their money sitting in cash
The Bank of Canada has concerns about the ability of households to keep paying down their high levels of debt when interest rates continue their rise
The latest figure for the household debt ratio shows Canadians’ burdens have remained in record-breaking territory at 170.4%
Canada’s banks now are holding more capital as a safety buffer than they were 10 years ago