Briefly: “Self-employed Canadians not managing risk: Desjardins” and more news

According to a survey conducted by Desjardins Financial Security, self-employed Canadians tend to have more debt and risk to manage than the average Canadian employee. According to the survey, 85% of Canadians carry a debt load of $25,000 or less, and only 5% have debts over $50,000. At the same time, just over half of […]

By Staff | April 1, 2009 | Last updated on April 1, 2009
3 min read
  • Revisit business plans. Create detailed short and long-term goals, taking as many business factors into account as possible; remove items in your business plan that no longer apply and ensure the plan includes a bigger picture view, plus contingency plan.
  • Create an advisory board. Create relationships with knowledgeable experts, including bank agricultural experts, who have experience in your specific agricultural industry. These can provide specific industry financing expertise, advice to help define long-term strategic directions and suggestions on how the farm can reach its greatest earning potential.
  • Take advantage of offers specific to farmers, including credit lines, farm mortgages and the Farm Improvement and Marketing Cooperatives Loans Act (FIMCLA), a government program which allows farmers to finance many capital assets at competitive interest rates.

• • •

Equifax supports proposed legislation

At a press conference held by the Minister of Justice on Tuesday in Ottawa, Equifax Canada added its voice to support for proposed legislation that would criminalize identity theft in Canada.

Over the past two years, the company says its statistics show consumers reported more than 34,000 cases of identity theft and fraud.

• • •

More Canadians delinquent with bill payments

In a separate release, Equifax also released data that shows Canadians are increasingly failing to pay their bills on time. Driven mostly by credit card debt, the average national delinquency rate increased by 7.3% between February 2008 and 2009.

Across the country, Montreal saw the greatest increase of 15.9% during the year. Other cities that experienced an above-average increase include Calgary (13.2% increase), Quebec City (12.8%), Hamilton (10.9%), Edmonton (9.7%) and London (9.3% increase).

Cities with below-average increases include Toronto (1.4% rise in delinquency rates), Ottawa-Gatineau (4.2% increase), Halifax (4.8%) and Vancouver (5.5%).

“Our data indicates that delinquency rates are impacted by regionality,” says Equifax Consulting Solutions vice president, Nadim Abdo. “Financial institutions may find this of interest as they develop their risk strategies.”

(04/01/09)

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.

Previously: | MON | TUE | WED | THU |

According to a survey conducted by Desjardins Financial Security, self-employed Canadians tend to have more debt and risk to manage than the average Canadian employee. According to the survey, 85% of Canadians carry a debt load of $25,000 or less, and only 5% have debts over $50,000. At the same time, just over half of self-employed workers have debts ringing in at the lower level; 21% have more than $50,000 of debt.

Despite their heavier debt loads, only 56% feel their stress is higher now than it was a year ago and 44% say it is harder to be competitive now, than it was at the start of the recession. That said, 72% say they are not working more hours.

From a planning point of view, the majority of self-employed Canadians own health insurance but 54% say they didn’t have enough disability coverage and 80% said they were not familiar with business expense insurance.

• • •

Canaccord announces cuts and new private client strategy

Canaccord Capital unveiled its plans yesterday to restructure the company’s resources in an effort to “lower its breakeven, modernize its compensation structure and ensure the efficiency of its corporate operations.”

The program includes consolidation of back-office support, deferral of certain reward programs and events, changes to securities processing, cost reductions in the global research group and new controls on the cost of underutilized professional licenses. The company is also reengineering compensation structures.

Along with cost restructuring, the company reduced the number of advisors working in its Private Client Services group, plans to prioritize clients and recruit investment advisors with larger books of business.

• • •

BMO launches credit line for farmers

The Bank of Montreal announced today it is launching a new lending product, called Agri ReadiLine, to give farmers access to funds without the need to reapply for financing throughout the year.

With the announcement, the bank also released a list of tips aimed at helping farmers cultivate their business:

  • Revisit business plans. Create detailed short and long-term goals, taking as many business factors into account as possible; remove items in your business plan that no longer apply and ensure the plan includes a bigger picture view, plus contingency plan.
  • Create an advisory board. Create relationships with knowledgeable experts, including bank agricultural experts, who have experience in your specific agricultural industry. These can provide specific industry financing expertise, advice to help define long-term strategic directions and suggestions on how the farm can reach its greatest earning potential.
  • Take advantage of offers specific to farmers, including credit lines, farm mortgages and the Farm Improvement and Marketing Cooperatives Loans Act (FIMCLA), a government program which allows farmers to finance many capital assets at competitive interest rates.

• • •

Equifax supports proposed legislation

At a press conference held by the Minister of Justice on Tuesday in Ottawa, Equifax Canada added its voice to support for proposed legislation that would criminalize identity theft in Canada.

Over the past two years, the company says its statistics show consumers reported more than 34,000 cases of identity theft and fraud.

• • •

More Canadians delinquent with bill payments

In a separate release, Equifax also released data that shows Canadians are increasingly failing to pay their bills on time. Driven mostly by credit card debt, the average national delinquency rate increased by 7.3% between February 2008 and 2009.

Across the country, Montreal saw the greatest increase of 15.9% during the year. Other cities that experienced an above-average increase include Calgary (13.2% increase), Quebec City (12.8%), Hamilton (10.9%), Edmonton (9.7%) and London (9.3% increase).

Cities with below-average increases include Toronto (1.4% rise in delinquency rates), Ottawa-Gatineau (4.2% increase), Halifax (4.8%) and Vancouver (5.5%).

“Our data indicates that delinquency rates are impacted by regionality,” says Equifax Consulting Solutions vice president, Nadim Abdo. “Financial institutions may find this of interest as they develop their risk strategies.”

(04/01/09)

Previously: | MON | TUE | WED | THU |

According to a survey conducted by Desjardins Financial Security, self-employed Canadians tend to have more debt and risk to manage than the average Canadian employee. According to the survey, 85% of Canadians carry a debt load of $25,000 or less, and only 5% have debts over $50,000. At the same time, just over half of self-employed workers have debts ringing in at the lower level; 21% have more than $50,000 of debt.

Despite their heavier debt loads, only 56% feel their stress is higher now than it was a year ago and 44% say it is harder to be competitive now, than it was at the start of the recession. That said, 72% say they are not working more hours.

From a planning point of view, the majority of self-employed Canadians own health insurance but 54% say they didn’t have enough disability coverage and 80% said they were not familiar with business expense insurance.

• • •

Canaccord announces cuts and new private client strategy

Canaccord Capital unveiled its plans yesterday to restructure the company’s resources in an effort to “lower its breakeven, modernize its compensation structure and ensure the efficiency of its corporate operations.”

The program includes consolidation of back-office support, deferral of certain reward programs and events, changes to securities processing, cost reductions in the global research group and new controls on the cost of underutilized professional licenses. The company is also reengineering compensation structures.

Along with cost restructuring, the company reduced the number of advisors working in its Private Client Services group, plans to prioritize clients and recruit investment advisors with larger books of business.

• • •

BMO launches credit line for farmers

The Bank of Montreal announced today it is launching a new lending product, called Agri ReadiLine, to give farmers access to funds without the need to reapply for financing throughout the year.

With the announcement, the bank also released a list of tips aimed at helping farmers cultivate their business:

  • Revisit business plans. Create detailed short and long-term goals, taking as many business factors into account as possible; remove items in your business plan that no longer apply and ensure the plan includes a bigger picture view, plus contingency plan.
  • Create an advisory board. Create relationships with knowledgeable experts, including bank agricultural experts, who have experience in your specific agricultural industry. These can provide specific industry financing expertise, advice to help define long-term strategic directions and suggestions on how the farm can reach its greatest earning potential.
  • Take advantage of offers specific to farmers, including credit lines, farm mortgages and the Farm Improvement and Marketing Cooperatives Loans Act (FIMCLA), a government program which allows farmers to finance many capital assets at competitive interest rates.

• • •

Equifax supports proposed legislation

At a press conference held by the Minister of Justice on Tuesday in Ottawa, Equifax Canada added its voice to support for proposed legislation that would criminalize identity theft in Canada.

Over the past two years, the company says its statistics show consumers reported more than 34,000 cases of identity theft and fraud.

• • •

More Canadians delinquent with bill payments

In a separate release, Equifax also released data that shows Canadians are increasingly failing to pay their bills on time. Driven mostly by credit card debt, the average national delinquency rate increased by 7.3% between February 2008 and 2009.

Across the country, Montreal saw the greatest increase of 15.9% during the year. Other cities that experienced an above-average increase include Calgary (13.2% increase), Quebec City (12.8%), Hamilton (10.9%), Edmonton (9.7%) and London (9.3% increase).

Cities with below-average increases include Toronto (1.4% rise in delinquency rates), Ottawa-Gatineau (4.2% increase), Halifax (4.8%) and Vancouver (5.5%).

“Our data indicates that delinquency rates are impacted by regionality,” says Equifax Consulting Solutions vice president, Nadim Abdo. “Financial institutions may find this of interest as they develop their risk strategies.”

(04/01/09)