Risk premium on lending in Canada
Canada: Risk premium on lending was 2.2% in 2017. ▲ Rising
Risk premium on lending in Canada, 1960–2017
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %.
Analysis
Canada recorded 2.2% for risk premium on lending in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, risk premium on lending in Canada peaked at 2.9% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1968.
That places Canada 62nd out of 86 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Risk premium on lending in Canada, year by year
| Year | lending rate minus treasury bill rate, % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 2.5% | — |
| 1961 | 2.8% | +9.6% |
| 1962 | 1.7% | -40.7% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | +32.2% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | -8.6% |
| 1965 | 1.8% | -10.7% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -43.8% |
| 1967 | 1.3% | +26.9% |
| 1968 | 0.6% | -49.1% |
| 1969 | 0.8% | +18.0% |
| 1970 | 2.2% | +184.1% |
| 1971 | 2.9% | +34.0% |
| 1972 | 2.4% | -16.4% |
| 1973 | 2.2% | -10.8% |
| 1974 | 2.9% | +34.5% |
| 1975 | 2.0% | -30.9% |
| 1976 | 1.2% | -41.9% |
| 1977 | 1.2% | -0.5% |
| 1978 | 1.0% | -13.4% |
| 1979 | 1.2% | +19.4% |
| 1980 | 1.5% | +20.6% |
| 1981 | 1.6% | +7.9% |
| 1982 | 2.2% | +37.1% |
| 1983 | 1.9% | -13.8% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | -46.0% |
| 1985 | 1.2% | +15.0% |
| 1986 | 1.6% | +34.4% |
| 1987 | 1.4% | -11.3% |
| 1988 | 1.4% | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 1.3% | -5.3% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | -2.0% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | -3.5% |
| 1992 | 0.9% | -26.2% |
| 1993 | 1.1% | +22.4% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | +22.2% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | +31.2% |
| 1996 | 1.9% | +5.8% |
| 1997 | 1.7% | -8.4% |
| 1998 | 1.9% | +10.2% |
| 1999 | 1.7% | -8.3% |
| 2000 | 1.8% | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | +14.8% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | -20.6% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | +12.0% |
| 2004 | 1.8% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 1.8% | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 2.0% | +9.8% |
| 2008 | 2.3% | +19.8% |
| 2009 | 2.0% | -12.5% |
| 2010 | 2.0% | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 2.0% | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 2.0% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 2.1% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 2.3% | +8.7% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.7% | 0.6% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.9% | 1.0% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.5% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.5% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2.3% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More financial sector data for Canada
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per capita 85,674 current LCU per person (2008)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), per unit of GDP 1.83 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2008)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU), annual growth rate 20.77 % change on previous year (2008)
- Gold reserves at 35 SDRs per ounce 0 SDR (2025)
- Gold reserves at market value 0 SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold, foreign exchange 71.85 billion SDR (2025)
- Reserves excluding gold 91.73 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at market value) 91.73 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) 91.73 billion SDR (2025)
- Total reserves (gold at national valuation) (SDR), per capita 2,202 SDR per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is risk premium on lending in Canada?
- Risk premium on lending in Canada was 2.2% in 2017, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest risk premium on lending recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 2.9% in 1974.
- What is the lowest risk premium on lending recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1968.
- How does Canada rank for risk premium on lending?
- Canada ranks 62nd out of 86 countries with data for 2017.
- Is risk premium on lending rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Risk premium on lending (lending rate minus treasury bill rate, %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Risk premium on lending is the interest rate charged by banks on loans to private sector customers minus the "risk free" treasury bill interest rate at which short-term government securities are issued or traded in the market. In some countries this spread may be negative, indicating that the market considers its best corporate clients to be lower risk than the government. The terms and conditions attached to lending rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.