MONTREAL - Most Canadian consumers and small businesses are expected to be conservative spenders if there's another global financial crisis, although they aren't having trouble accessing credit at this time, experts said Wednesday.
Bruce Cran of the Consumers' Association of Canada said Canadians don't have excess savings and some consumers are still paying off debts from the global financial crisis of 2008.
"Canadians generally won't be running around with their plastic at Christmas, running up debt they can't afford," said Cran, the association's president.
"We're a pretty conservative lot," Cran said from Vancouver.
The Bank of Canada and five other central banks on Wednesday launched what looks like a pre-emptive strike to head off a new global credit crunch that could trigger a second recession.
The central banks will make it cheaper for banks to access U.S. dollars. The banks use some of the money to lend to consumers, businesses and others who need cash for purchases, investments and other expenses.
The initiative, announced Wednesday, is aimed at helping European banks, which have been seeing their costs rise for acquiring funding in U.S. currency during the government debt crisis on that continent.
Credit dried up in many parts of the world in 2008 -- including Canada for a few months -- for all but the most creditworthy businesses and households. That triggered a global recession across most industrialized countries, some of which are still dealing with the fallout.
But lending to consumers and businesses has actually increased recently, according to the Canadian Bankers Association.
"In fact, here in Canada, banks continue to lend to businesses and consumers," said Terry Campbell, president of the Canadian Bankers Association.
"The most recent Bank of Canada lending data from October shows that bank consumer lending remains strong, with household credit growing by 5.8 per cent from the previous year and bank lending to businesses increasing by 7.4 per cent in the same time period," Campbell said.
Cran said consumers haven't complained to him about not being able to get credit.
"As far as buying a car, buying a house or whatever, I don't think there's too much credit. I don't think there's too little."
Corinne Pohlmann of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said access to credit is generally available for small businesses.
"In fact, I would argue that a lot of businesses, including small businesses, are probably playing it conservatively right now and probably watching what's happening and are trying to hold onto what they have at the moment," said Pohlmann, the federation's vice-president of national affairs.
She noted that some businesses serving the auto sector had trouble accessing credit during the credit crunch three years ago.
"At this point, access to credit for small businesses in Canada is fairly well available," Pohlmann said from Ottawa.
A report by Moody's Investor Service said although Canadian banks have an "admirable" history of managing consumer credit, Canadians have become increasingly indebted in the past few years.
"Canadian household debt as a share of personal disposable income stood at a record 150.8 per cent at the end of June this year," said Moody's vice-president David Beattie.
"We are concerned that, while taking advantage of low interest rates, consumers are also taking on debt they may not be able to service when rates inevitably go up," Beattie said in a news release.
It's the same message that Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have been broadcasting for months as interest rates remain at ultra-low levels, encouraging heavy borrowing.
Canadians are at least taking on less mortgage debt, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. said this week. Its third-quarter report said the growth of mortgage loans has slowed down to an average of just under $160,000.
