MNI: BOC Ready To Act If There Is Severe Market-Wide Stress

The Bank of Canada is prepared to step in if financial markets freeze up following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse, Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle said Wednesday, while noting that global banks are better protected than they were in the 2008 global financial crisis. 

"We know we’re not immune to spillovers from what’s happening elsewhere," Gravelle said in a speech. "The Bank’s mandate to promote the stability of the financial system means that we’re ready to act in the event of severe market-wide stress and provide liquidity support to the financial system."

Most of the speech reviewed lessons learned from the Bank's first-ever use of QE during the Covid pandemic, noting that its term repo program is the "workhorse" and in future QE will likely be deployed with a more limited timeframe and purpose.