Canada : Watchdog tells banks to test resilience to sharp home price falls

TORONTO : Canada’s banking regulator said on Tuesday it will require the country’s banks to test how they would withstand a 50 percent cut in property prices in Vancouver and a 40 percent decline in Toronto.

The move is the latest in a series of moves by Canadian authorities to counter a threat posed by soaring house prices in the two Canadian cities. OSFI said earlier this month is was tightening oversight of mortgage lending, citing concern about record household debt and a sharp jump in prices.