The threat of tariffs is leading to a pullback in borrowing as businesses and consumers wait to see what comes, said Scotiabank.
Kicking off first-quarter results for Canadian banks, Scotiabank moderately boosted its provisions for bad loans but has held off on a larger allocation because of the lack of clarity of what might happen.
“It’s difficult to act on headlines and tweets,” said chief risk officer Phil Thomas on an analyst call Tuesday.
If tariffs come, as U.S. President Donald Trump said again on Monday they would, the bank would have to set aside much more capital in the second quarter in anticipation of the economic hit the border taxes would have on businesses and consumers….