As Canadian Government Pandemic Relief Winds Down, Bankers Prepare for Potential Issues

Canadian bank executives are preparing for what is shaping up to be a long and bumpy recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has pushed the Canadian economy into a recession. As government aid and loan deferral programs come to an end, lenders exposure to the real damage to their customer from pandemic will lead to a rise in credit impairments. In a call with an analysis, Dave McKay, chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s biggest lender said, “The real test of the recovery will come once government support programs start to wind down. It may take one or two years for us to get back to where we were before.”