The Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility (Canada GFC)
Journal of Financial Crises: Vol. 2 : Iss. 3, 635-647. Available at: https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal-of-financial-crises/vol2/iss3/32
13 Pages Posted: 26 Oct 2020
Date Written: October 10, 2020
Abstract
Following a meeting of Group of Seven leaders in October 2008, the Canadian Minister of Finance announced the creation of a new Canadian Lenders Assurance Facility (CLAF). The facility enabled federally regulated deposit-taking financial institutions to access government insurance of up to three years on newly issued senior unsecured wholesale debt. This mirrored similar programs in other countries to ensure that Canadian financial institutions were not competitively disadvantaged in the wholesale debt market at a time when most developed countries were guaranteeing their banks’ debt. This competitive disadvantage never materialized, and the facility was allowed to expire on December 31, 2009, without ever being used.
Keywords: backstop, wholesale debt, insurance
JEL Classification: G01,G28
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation