do the banks loan money?

[Zephyr]

Do the banks give loans at the moment? If I need personal loan will they lend me? Just curious

[bullish]

Of course they loan money - they are in the business of loaning money. I haven't heard any of my friends or colleagues complain about having problem getting a loan from Canadian bank. US banks might have stopped lending, but the Canadian banks are just fine.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by bullish

Of course they loan money - they are in the business of loaning money. I haven't heard any of my friends or colleagues complain about having problem getting a loan from Canadian bank. US banks might have stopped lending, but the Canadian banks are just fine.

Have you actually tried to borrow from a Canadian bank in the last few months? I friend of mine applied for a credit line with CIBC in October 2008 and was denied. I definitely think that the banks have tightened their lending criteria and getting a loan is harder than it was a few months back.

[mary1]

Originally Posted by Zephyr

Do the banks give loans at the moment? If I need personal loan will they lend me? Just curious

They will if you have assets. Do you have any assets? If you already have a mortgage, car loan and credit card debt they may not lend you money...

[Canadian]

I spoke to a friend of mine last night, and he told me that it's close to impossible to get an unsecured loan at the moment. He is doing an extension on a house he recently bought in Toronto, and he needs a temporary unsecured loan (almost like a bridge loan) to cover his expenses until he obtains the permanent financing. The problem is that none of the big 5 Canadian banks won't give him such loan. I guess he can try credit unions next, but I doubt that he'll get a different answer there.

[canfra]

Originally Posted by Canadian

I spoke to a friend of mine last night, and he told me that it's close to impossible to get an unsecured loan at the moment. He is doing an extension on a house he recently bought in Toronto, and he needs a temporary unsecured loan (almost like a bridge loan) to cover his expenses until he obtains the permanent financing. The problem is that none of the big 5 Canadian banks won't give him such loan. I guess he can try credit unions next, but I doubt that he'll get a different answer there.

That's too bad. So I guess the answer in NO. They don't loan money at the moment...

[annof]

Originally Posted by mary1

They will if you have assets. Do you have any assets? If you already have a mortgage, car loan and credit card debt they may not lend you money...

I agree, you must have assets, stable job and perfect credit for the bank even consider you for a loan. Otherwise they'll show you the door.

[Zephyr]

thanks all for your replies. At the moment they won't give a personal loan to anyone who has debt and no assets. Or the interest rate will be sky high...

[Canadian]

Originally Posted by Zephyr

thanks all for your replies. At the moment they won't give a personal loan to anyone who has debt and no assets. Or the interest rate will be sky high...

And that's the way it should be. If the banks adhered to these simple rules, we wouldn't be in this mess, would we?

[Jason]

I can tell you from personal experience that getting loan right now is close to impossible. It looks like Canadian banks are afraid to lend even to people with excellent credit. The problem is that in a credit-driven society, once the credit stops flowing the economy stops with it.