Yahoo Finance Big banks raise prime rate to 6.45% following Bank of Canada hike
Canada’s big banks fell into step with the Bank of Canada and raised their prime lending rates Wednesday.
Royal Bank of Canada, TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, CIBC, Bank of Montreal, National Bank of Canada, Equitable Bank and Laurentian Bank of Canada all raised their prime rate by 50 basis points from 5.95 per cent to 6.45 per cent starting Thursday, Dec. 8.
The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday morning, but also signalled a turning point.
Its rate at 4.25 per cent is the highest since January 2008 but the central bank said in its statement that future decisions would be data dependent, a change from earlier announcements this year that made it clear rate increases would continue.
