Last week, we shared part one from our annual Personal Finance Sentiments Survey which was sent for response to our Marble customers and across our social media platforms, and discussed Canadians and their relationship with Financial Technology. We discovered that 74% of Canadians did not use personal finance websites or apps to manage their finances. But when it comes to financial struggle, where do Canadians stand? This week, we will be focusing on Canadians and their Loans, Debts and Insolvency.
In the age of COVID-19, our economy is uncertain and, for many this results in employment. When one faces unexpected job loss, financial struggle may follow. According to BetterDwelling, Evan Siddel, the head of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), sent a memo to lenders requesting they tighten up on lending to curb risky lending. This follows CMHC tightening the criteria for mortgage insurance. According to BetterDwelling, in July, credit scores were limited to a hard minimum of 680. This means that the once before flexible number is now a hard minimum, making a good credit score more important than ever in hard times. BetterDwelling confirms that the agency also won’t insure properties bought with borrowed down payments and removed exceptions to debt service ratios. With these now stricter than ever underwriting policies in times of more risk due to the Pandemic, how are Canadians coping?
In our recent survey, we asked Canadians about their sentiments to Insolvency, Loans and Debt. We discovered that 50% of respondents had considered filing for bankruptcy at the time the survey had taken place in June 2020. We also learned that 69% of respondents had an existing loan, 28% had not, and a mere 3% had never had a loan.
When it comes to Payday Loans, which is a high-interest lender in Canada that charges around $15 interest for every $100 borrowed, 65% of Canadians had obtained one. And following on from this, a staggering 84% of respondents had considered Debt Consolidation in their lifetime.
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Marble Financial (CSE: MRBL; OTCQB: MRBLF). We are a group of forward-thinking financial technology experts that understand Canadian’s occasionally need help in achieving longer-term credit health. Through our industry-leading proprietary technology solutions Fast Track Loan, Score Up, and Credit Meds. We guide our customers back to mainstream credit 50% quicker than traditional methods. Since 2016, We are proud to have empowered thousands of Canadians to a positive financial future. With this, we continue to establish ourselves as a leader in financial wellness.
[Source: Survey of existing MyMarble users]