Steady as She Goes - For Now: Council Recommends Holding Domestic Stability Buffer at 3.5 percent

Second Meeting of the C.D. Howe Institute Domestic Stability Buffer Council

At its recent meeting, the C.D. Howe Institute’s Domestic Stability Buffer Council (DSBC) recommended that the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) maintain the Domestic Stability Buffer (DSB) for major banks at 3.5 percent at its next setting in June.

The DSBC provides OSFI, industry participants, and key economic policy voices with an independent assessment of the appropriate size of the buffer in pursuit of OSFI’s mandate of contributing to public confidence in the Canadian financial system. The Council consists of Vivian Abdelmessih, Cathy…

C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 5.00 Percent, Cut to 3.50 Percent by April 2025

April 4, 2024 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) calls for the Bank of Canada to maintain its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 5.00 percent at its next announcement on April 10th. The MPC further calls for the Bank to lower the target to 4.75 at the following announcement in June, on the way to a target of 3.50 percent by April of 2025.

 

The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2…

Canada Dodged Recession, Risks Remain in 2024

March 27, 2024 - Canada avoided a recession in the last two years but risks remain for 2024, according to the C.D. Howe Institute's Business Cycle Council (BCC). 

In "So Far, So Good: C.D. Howe Institute Business Cycle Council Declares Recession Avoided in 2022, 2023," members of the BCC examined if a recession had occurred in the past two years and found that the Canadian economy did not fulfill the conditions required to indicate a recession.

C.D. Howe Institute Business Cycle Council (BCC) is an authoritative arbiter of business cycle dates in Canada. The BCC meets when economic conditions indicate the possibility of entry to, or exit from, a recession and acts as a conduit for research aimed at developing a deeper…

C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 5.00 Percent, Cut to 3.50 Percent by March of 2025

February 29, 2024 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 5.00 percent at its next announcement on March 6th. The MPC further recommends that the Bank keep the target at 5.00 percent in April, before reducing it to 4.50 percent by September and to 3.50 percent by March of 2025.

 

The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of…

C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council Calls for Bank of Canada to Hold Overnight Rate at 5.00 Percent through March, Cut to 3.75 Percent by January of 2025

January 18, 2024 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) recommends that the Bank of Canada maintain its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 5.00 percent at its next announcement on January 24th. The MPC further recommends that the Bank keep the target at 5.00 percent in March, before reducing it to 4.50 percent by July and to 3.75 percent by January of 2025.

The MPC provides an independent assessment of the monetary stance consistent with the Bank of Canada’s 2 percent inflation target. William Robson, the Institute’s CEO, chairs the Council. Council members make recommendations for the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest-rate announcement, the subsequent…