Household debt growth modest in June

Household debt growth was modest in June, as home equity lines of credit (HELOC) borrowing declined, pushing down non-mortgage debt, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Total household borrowing rose 0.1% in June to $2.86 trillion, led by a 0.2% increase in mortgage debt.

While mortgage borrowing grew by $4.6 billion in the month, other forms of household borrowing contracted by $0.4 billion, tempering the overall increase.

In particular, StatsCan reported that HELOC balances declined by $0.7 billion in the month, more than offsetting a $0.5-billion increase in credit card debt.

Other forms of non-mortgage borrowing (excluding HELOCs and credit cards) were also down by $0.3 billion in June, it said.

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.