Concerns about systemic risk in the Canadian securities industry eased alongside interest rates in 2024, according to an annual survey of portfolio managers and investment dealers.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released the results of its third annual systemic risk survey on Wednesday.
The survey revealed that industry firms were less concerned about the stability of the financial system this year, compared with last year’s survey. The share of respondents who said they were “somewhat” to “very” concerned about financial stability was down by six percentage points year over year to 59%.
“Only 16% of respondents indicated their level of concern had increased compared to a year ago, a more than 20 percentage point decrease from last year’s responses,” the CSA noted.
While household debt remains the top risk among industry firms, the level of concern is down by seven points from last year, as interest rate worries plunged in this year’s survey.
Alongside household debt, the industry’s main worries were cyber threats, geopolitics and the housing market, the CSA noted.
“It’s encouraging to see the results from our third systemic risk survey, which indicates a positive view of financial stability in the Canadian capital markets,” said Stan Magidson, chair of the CSA and chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission, in a release.
The survey was conducted between Oct. 10 and Nov. 4 with 536 investment dealers and portfolio managers.