As stresses ease, Bank of Canada curtails supports

Citing improved market conditions, the Bank of Canada is scaling back programs designed to support specific market segments amid pandemic-driven disruptions.

In a notice, the central bank announced that it will be discontinuing its Bankers’ Acceptance Purchase Facility and the Canada Mortgage Bond Purchase Program at the end of October.

Both programs were launched in March as central banks scrambled to ensure liquidity in financial markets rocked by Covid-19.

The bank also announced that it will be reducing its term repo operations from weekly to bi-weekly, and narrowing the sorts of securities that are eligible for these transactions.

The moves come as “overall financial market conditions continue to improve,” the bank said, noting that usage of these support programs “has declined significantly.”

“The bank remains committed to providing liquidity as required to support the functioning of the Canadian financial system. Any discontinued facilities can be restarted if necessary,” the bank 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.