Inflation Is Draining Consumers’ Savings, National Bank CEO Says
- Ferreira expects savings buffers to be wiped out next year
- Market volatility putting damper on M&A, IPO activity
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Interest-rate increases and surging inflation may totally wipe out the extra savings that consumers built up during the pandemic by 2023, National Bank of Canada Chief Executive Officer Laurent Ferreira said, a full year earlier than he previously expected.
There are now serious risks to the “Goldilocks scenario” of slow rate increases and a soft landing for the economy that would benefit commercial banks, Ferreira said. Central banks may ratchet up rates too quickly while failing to control inflation, which has been accelerated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, he said.