The Bank of Montreal has been training its branch staff all across the country in the area of bereavement services this past spring, and the operation is now underway. The Royal Bank of Canada is also in the process of introducing a similar service to executors of an estate.

I find the extent to which the chartered banks are beginning compete for Canadians, and their wealth, very impressive. With Canada’s aging population, the banks have now shifted a lot of their focus on Wealth Management.

“The growth rate for this industry is probably twice what the GDP growth rate is,” said Gilles Ouellette, chief executive officer of BMO’s private client group and deputy chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns.

“Because it’s attractive, it’s attracting more and more competition. The banks are competing in this, the independents, the life insurance companies, everybody’s in this space because of its growth prospects. I mean, it’s the most attractive part of the finance industry.”

We have seen a huge evolution in Canadian banks from the 90′s – since the allowance of banks to participate and compete in other areas of the financial services industry. The fight between the chartered banks for customer loyalty has been very aggressive, and ultimately benefited both the Canadian consumer/business banker, and of course the chartered banks themselves.

The banks have also been desperately grasping at any market available for target. “Wealth Management” has traditionally been viewed as “mutual funds” – we now see what it has evolved to, and more importantly what it will evolve to tomorrow…

“Bet your mother’s banker never asked her whether her kids might fight over her estate, or when her daughter is getting married, or how her divorce is coming along. Depending on their level of wealth, Canadians might be surprised to find out some of the things some banks are willing to do for them these days – for a fee, of course – from guiding boomers on how to get proper health care for their elderly parents, to helping them decide which child to leave the family business to, to connecting them with a good dog-walker.” –Tera Perkins, Globe and Mail

What does bad credit mean to your home mortgage refinance? Well, bad credit won’t necessarily stop you from approval for a refinance mortgage loan, but it will definitely affect the amount of interest you pay for the refinanced loan. The worse your credit, the higher your interest rate will be.

“Great! What am I waiting for?” Well, don’t jump off your seat just yet. A bad credit home mortgage refinance may sound easy after reading the above, but it does require some shopping and careful planning. Sometimes when you get a home mortgage refinance with bad credit, you end up paying more in interest than you would like. The last thing you want your refinance to do is get you further into financial trouble.

Get more information and apply to refinance your home mortgage with bad credit at Credit Consolidation Loans.

Although life insurance is purchased for yourself, your dependents are the ones who typically benefit from it. Life insurance provides your dependents with the security to protect the family home, should you die. The proceeds of a life insurance policy, known as the death benefit, provides the financial resources for the family home to continue to run as closely to normal as possible. The money that is realized from the life insurance also enables the family to repay any debts that have accumulated.

Term Life Insurance provides this protection for a specific amount of time. The term varies according to the policy and the provider. Typically, the policy is renewable upon the conclusion of a term. Terms can last for as little as one year and as long as twenty years.

The premium due on a term policy generally varies according to the individual’s age. Typically, the premium is a lesser amount in the earlier years of the policy. This is usually helpful to individuals who are younger and have a large amount of debt. The lower premium allows the individual to acquire a larger policy with a greater amount of coverage for what amounts to an affordable cost.

Permanent insurance policies go by several different names including Whole, Universal, Variable, Ordinary, and Adjustable. Permanent life insurance policies are designed to last for a long time. As long as the premium is paid, the policy stays in effect. If you don’t intend to hold onto the life insurance policy for a long time, it might be better for you to go with term insurance.

Many whole life policies feature a cash value. This is also referred to as a cash surrender value. In the event that the policy holder needs some ready cash and decides to turn in his policy, he can redeem it for the cash value that it has earned to date.

In order to determine which type of life insurance policy is best for you, consider your needs. Are you getting the policy to cover household expenses for remaining family? Do you want the policy to enable your spouse to raise your children in the family home in the event of your death? Do you want a term life insurance policy to be in effect simply to pay off your debts should you die? Think about these and other questions before deciding which policy is the right one for you.

Once online, many investors tend to concentrate on stocks, specifically large-cap domestic stocks. While these stocks should make up part of your portfolio, they shouldn’t be ALL of it! Take into account your time horizon and risk tolerance to develop a well-balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash.

If you’re new to investing online and are looking to open a brokerage account, there are some important facts you should know before choosing a broker. Each one has strengths and weaknesses, but not everyone sees a broker in the same way. For example, if you’re comfortable finding your own research for investing online, then the deep discount brokers will work well for you.

Ask yourself?

What services are offered? Do they have research available? What is the cost to you for investing online? What are the real commission costs to do a trade, including any handling fees? How are confirmations sent to you — by e-mail, by snail mail, by phone? Can you enter orders by phone, by e-mail, directly on-line? Does it cost extra to call and talk to a broker for help with your account?

Basically you can make money from trading money. If you have US dollars you can buy British pounds for a set rate and they trade the money back in the future at a different rate. This can make your gains immense. Much larger than gains made on the stock market. Just as the upside for currency trading is high, the downside is just as scary and can be immense also. There are currency trading brokers available on line that can provide strategies to limit your losses and maximize your gains.

In a low interest rate environment like the US, it can be a problem to invest in secure high-yielding fixed income investments. Most of these investments are around the base rate as set by the government. It would be difficult to get secure investments around the 3% mark. In New Zealand or Australia some fixed interest investments are worth 7.5% or 8%. An issue with making an investment abroad is that currency rates are so volatile that even though you make 5% on yield, that gain can be wiped out in currency rates.

Equally, currency rates can work in your favour and your investment will have an extremely high yield. To eliminate this uncertainty you can make a foreign investment today using a spot trade and also set up a forward trade at the time of investment maturity. This way you eliminate currency risk in your investment and can capitalise on foreign products. Setting up a forward trade costs money but in many instances the cost of the trade is minimal in comparison to the gains that can be made.

The Canadian retailer’s financial services arm, Canadian Tire Bank, announced yesterday that it will allow people to combine mortgage, chequing and savings accounts, as well as other loans and credit card balances into a single account. This is a huge move for Canadian Tire, as it joins other North American retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Loblaws, in the financial services industry to increase profits and returns.

Canadian Tire Bank now manages about 4 million Canadian Tire MasterCard accounts, which has proven to be successful – but not enough. Wal-Mart is also planning to soon introduce a prepaid debit card for low-income consumers, and install money centres at about 1,000 of its stores. Meanwhile, Loblaws Cos. Ltd.’s President’s Choice Financial has also been expanding services, and becoming increasingly distinguished and competitive.

The “Canadian”, in Canadian Tire may prove to be the best weapon against its competitors. The Canadian housing market continues to boom, unlike the housing market in the United States (hit hard by credit issues spread by the U.S. subprime mortgage sector). Canadian Tire said it is not worried about effects on its mortgage lending from exposure to the U.S. sector.

“Canadian Tire has very conservative and very prudent lending policies and we’re not concerned about the impact of what’s happening in the U.S. on the products we’re bringing to the market today,” said Pam Dodaro, associate vice president of retail banking products at Canadian Tire Financial Services.

Canadian Tire generates most of its sales from home and building supplies. I guess it is looking to take full advantage of the Canadian domestic real estate market that’s remained robust. The Canadian housing market seems to heavily contrast the U.S.’s; which right now, as you know (unless you’ve been living on the moon), is experiencing a sharp slowdown, causing many lenders to collapse.

Canadian Tires said that it main advantage over banks will be that customers can pay down debt more quickly.

“We know from our consumer and market research that as the size of the average mortgage continues to grow, so does every Canadian’s desire to pay off that debt as quickly as possible” said Marco Marrone, president of Canadian Tire Financial Services in a release.

And oh yeah.. I almost forgot the best part… you get Canadian Tire “money” while your at it!

“I don’t have any collateral, so I can’t get a private loan.”
Private loans are usually non asset-backed, which means no collateral is required. Yet, this may also mean a higher interest rate.

“I don’t have a good credit history (or no credit history at all).”
Since the government doesn’t back private loans, your credit history is a consideration in being approved for a loan. If your credit history is bad or non-existent, you will most likely be subject to a higher interest rate. And remember, you can always get a co-signer. Pay your loan off on time, and soon you will have a good credit history!

“I have enough funds for tuition and fees, so I can’t get a private loan.”
In addition to paying tuition and fees, funds from private loans can be used to cover living expenses, supplies, computers, and other everyday living needs.

“I can’t afford to make payments on a loan while I am still in school.”
For most loans, your principal and interest payments can be deferred while you are enrolled in school. Another option is to make interest payments while you are in school but defer paying off the principal. Your interest payments might even be tax-deductible!

“I missed the deadline for applying for financial aid this year.”
You can apply for private student loans any time; there is no deadline. Depending on the financial institution you choose, you can be pre-approved in minutes and have the money (which will be sent directly to you) within a matter of days.

“I don’t have a bank to apply through.”
Private student loans are offered by thousands of banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions. Just search the internet for private student loans, and you will find many places to apply to. If you need the additional funds provided by private loans, don’t let myths and misconceptions keep you from applying!

Source: mystudentloansite.com

Best of luck during the new school year!

A mortgage given to a home-buyer with less than sufficient credit, or who lacks a proven income source to support loan payments. Lenders with excess money in the U.S. were giving loans to almost anyone who asked – charging a little more interest in return for the riskier loans. The lenders made their bet on (U.S.) house prices to rise. Well, that’s not exactly what ended up happening. When housing prices began to fall, and interest rates started to rise, many borrowers wound up in trouble – causing to default on their loans.

How did the problem spread to Canada, and the rest of the financial world?

Many of the lenders (American Home Mortgage, HSBC, …) were selling the loans to other parties, including hedge funds and pension funds – who were also looking for higher returns. The subprime loans were bundled and sold to third-party investors. As the loans started to go bad (and default), people all across the financial world were affected. As others were affected, concerns over losses started to grow. The concerns causes investors and lenders to ask for higher rates, or stopped activities completely – the concept of the credit crunch.

What is commercial paper?

Commercial paper is short-term debt (with maturity dates less than a year) issued by companies. Institutional investors – money-market mutual funds, low-returning funds, etc. – tend to be the largest buyers of the market. As a result, only highly rated companies with strong balance sheets can generally issue commercial paper, limiting the size of the market.

What is asset-backed commercial paper?

Asset-backed commercial paper is exactly what it sounds like. Commercial paper, backed by assets such as car loans, mortgages and credit-card receivables. Which companies are involved? Trusts and other financial companies; the one’s you’ve probably heard on the news – Conventree Capital, National Bank of Canada, and so on.

So what’s the problem in the commercial paper market?

As concerns about the housing market bubble about to burst grows, portfolio managers at money-market mutual funds are doubting the investment in asset-backed commercial paper – especially those backed by assets such as mortgage loans. In consequence, this leaves the trusts short of cash, because no one is willing to buy their paper. Other banks are providing loans, and central banks are helping to provide liquidity.

What about my money-market mutual fund?

If your money-market mutual fund has invested in a trust that’s in trouble, it could spell out losses for the fund, and ultimately you – the investor.

Reminder: this is only a small portion of the market that’s in trouble, and not every money-market mutual fund holds paper issued by the trusts in trouble.