Majority of British Columbians say they “desperately” need interest rates to fall

Persistent high interest rates are pushing British Columbians to their breaking point.

This week’s MNP Consumer Debt Index tells an alarming story – 63 per cent of British Columbians polled say they “desperately need interest rates to go down.”

Additionally, 48 per cent of people said they do not think interest rates will fall quickly enough “to provide the financial relief they require,” and 43 per cent said they are still concerned about their ability to pay off their debts, even if rates decline.

Leah Drewcock, a local Licensed Insolvency Trustee, told My PG Now “A lot of British Columbians were expecting to see some relief with the interest rates being cut recently, but our survey results show British Columbians are still very concerned about their ability to service their debt.”

Since the pandemic, Drewcock said interest rates have been “all over the map,” but a consumer confidence hit an all-time low in December 2022. “It has been going up since then so we expected to see our consumers feeling a little bit of relief, but that is not reflected in the latest survey.”

Interest rates and the cost of living need to fall or “everyone gets a very large salary increase,” but Drewcock said she is worried that there will not be any immediate relief.

“I am concerned about home owners losing their home to foreclosures or taking on more debt and not being able to service their other debt,” she explained. “Not being able to eat, pay rent, their utilities, it can be quite scary thinking if interest rates go up or don’t go down further we could have a very serious poverty situation on our hands.”

In the meantime, Drewcock recommends people focus on budgeting.

“For someone who is really struggling to pay their debt and has budgeted as much as they possibly can, I think talking to a licensed professional… we have the resources to support and offer personalized guidance,” she said. “It is important to ask for help. Debt is not solely a personal failing, there are many factors that contribute to it.”

You can find the MNP Consumer debt index here.