TD Bank joins RBC in hiking mortgage rates, more banks expected to follow suit
TORONTO — TD Bank (TSX:TD) has quietly increased its fixed mortgage rates ahead of a similar move by Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY) to take effect Thursday, the latest sign that Canada’s big banks are hiking the costs of borrowing for homeowners.
Cheryl Ficker, a spokeswoman for TD, said Wednesday that the lender raised its special rate offer for a four-year fixed mortgage by five basis points to 2.44 per cent and for a five-year fixed mortgage by 10 basis points to 2.69 per cent. The changes kicked in Tuesday and affect all amortization periods, Ficker said.
Rob McLister, a mortgage broker at IntelliMortgage and founder of RateSpy.com, said he expects the other big banks will quickly move in lockstep because of a massive sell-off in the bond market that has made it more expensive for banks to get access to cash.
“When bond yields shoot up 25-plus basis points like we’ve seen in the last week, the big banks move like a herd,” said McLister.