Finance committee  Thank you very much. Good afternoon to the committee members. My name is Andy Charles. I'm the president and CEO of Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company. By way of introduction, we are Canada's only 100% Canadian-owned private mortgage default insurer, and since 2010 we

Finance committee  Thank you very much for the question. Virtually 90% of our business is the first-time homebuyer. We define that first-time homebuyer as someone who doesn't put a 20% down payment. That is the first-time homebuyer we provide insurance to. They may move on, they may sell their prop

Finance committee  I can't give you a precise number. I take the view that as it relates to the insured industry—and I only can talk for Canada Guaranty—the overwhelming majority of purchasers we're providing insurance for would be first-time homebuyers.

Finance committee  It certainly is a fact that we consider the overall debt-to-income ratio. It is a metric. It is a consideration. However, when I mention the average credit score being 753, if you look at that in the context of where that was five years ago or seven years ago—so if you go back

Finance committee  At today's current rate, if they're putting 5% down, off the top of my head, sir, it's probably in the $2,000 range.

Finance committee  A comparison between the cost to rent and the cost of paying the mortgage really depends on the location. As I think about that, $2,000 may be on the high side if it's a $300,000 mortgage at the current rates.

Finance committee  I take the view, and Canada Guaranty takes the view, that the successive measures the government has taken over the years have been a net positive. We support the concept of a stress test. We think that's appropriate. We think that's prudent. We could debate the aspect of how man

Finance committee  These changes are certainly not immaterial. In fact, they're quite significant. From a timing point of view, we'd like to see the rest of 2017 play out. I think you need to look at a number of different metrics: the number of transactions, the impact on the rate of home ownersh

Finance committee  No.

Finance committee  I would characterize it as follows. There is no formal consultation period, i.e., there's no published document that welcomes input into it. I think we make it incumbent upon ourselves to make sure we're in front of the Department of Finance officials to try to gain insight into

Finance committee  As I indicated in my opening comments, we were supportive of the fairly extensive changes that you referenced from 2008 onwards as strengthening the housing market. In fact, I think they have created a lot of positive dividends for the housing market. As it relates to these most

Finance committee  I would echo that and I would add for precision that when we talk about the qualifying rate, we're talking about the stress test and the application of the stress test not just on the insured marketplace, which as I said is reducing. The government could have considered or contem

Finance committee  Is that a question for my benefit?

Finance committee  Yes. I take the view that the government's participation in the housing market has been a net positive for Canadians. By virtue of owning 100% of CMHC, it is a public organization. It's an organization that, as people have indicated in some of the testimony I hear, has been very

Finance committee  It would be significantly challenged if the government continued to own 100% of CMHC. If the government wished to exit the mortgage default insurance and withdraw that government sponsorship, we could compete quite effectively on an apples-to-apples basis.