Canada Household Debt Ratio Reaches Record 163.3% in 4th Quarter

Leverage ratios among Canadian households increased to a record in the fourth quarter as disposable income grew more slowly than borrowing.

Credit-market debt including mortgages, consumer credit and non-mortgage loans grew to 163.3 percent of disposable income, from a revised 162.7 percent in the third quarter, Statistics Canada said Thursday in Ottawa. Mortgage debt, which accounts for about two thirds of the total, climbed 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.