Growth in household debt rises in July

Household debt growth ramped up in July, with both mortgage borrowing and credit card debt accelerating, according to Statistics Canada.

Total household debt rose by 0.3% in July to $2.87 trillion, the national statistical agency reported.

Mortgage debt was up 0.3% in the month, and rose by 3.4% on an annualized basis, StatsCan said.

This represented the second straight month of faster growth, coming on the heels of three months of slower accumulations.

Non-mortgage debt was up by 2.9% on an annualized basis in July, marking a sharp jump from the 0.8% annual pace recorded in June.

In particular, credit card debt increased by 1.4% in the month — far outpacing the 0.2% rise in other forms of non-mortgage borrowing.

StatsCan noted that outstanding balances on home equity lines of credit actually declined by $0.8 billion in July.

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.