Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia and four other Canadian lenders had credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service because of high home prices and consumer debt.
Toronto-Dominion, the last publicly traded bank rated AAA by Moody’s, was cut to Aa1, the ratings firm said Monday in a statement. Bank of Nova Scotia fell to Aa2 and the ratings on Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Caisse Centrale Desjardins du Quebec and National Bank of Canada were lowered by one level.
Moody’s also removed systemic support from all rated Canadian banks’ subordinated debt, including those issued by Royal Bank of Canada.
“High levels of consumer indebtedness and elevated housing prices leave Canadian banks more vulnerable than in the past to downside risks the Canadian economy faces,” Moody’s said in a statement.
Moody’s said that Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal and National Bank -- Canada’s third, fourth and sixth-largest banks by assets -- have “sizable exposure” to volatile capital markets businesses.
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