Mortgages, credit cards drive debt higher

Household borrowing continued to rise in March, led by growing mortgage debt, Statistics Canada says.

Total household credit liabilities increased by $9.3 billion in March, up 0.3% from the previous month, StatsCan reported.

The rise in overall household debt was driven by mortgage debt, which rose by $6.3 billion.

Mortgage debt was up 0.3% on a monthly basis and 3.5% on an annualized basis, the federal statistics agency said. This marked a slowdown compared with February, when mortgage debt grew by 4.2% on an annualized basis.

While mortgage debt drove the headline increase in household credit, other forms of debt grew faster in March.

Non-mortgage debt increased at a 0.4% rate in March (up $3 billion), which was a bit faster than in February, when other forms of borrowing rose by 0.3%.

Credit card debt grew fastest, up 1.1% in March, rising by $1.2 billion.

Additionally, balances on home equity lines of credit edged up by $0.2 billion (0.1%) in March, while other forms of debt grew by $1.6 billion, up 0.3% in the month.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.