Banks implement interest rate hike

OTTAWA — Within hours of the Bank of Canada’s announcement Wednesday morning of a raise to its benchmark interest rate, the country’s largest financial institutions had moved to adjust their interest rates accordingly. The central bank cited “uncertainty about the future of NAFTA” in announcing the quarter-point hike, which brings its key rate up to 1.25%, the highest it has been since 2009. The increase is the third since the summer, which had seen rates at record lows. As of today, prime lending rates at the big five banks – Royal, TD, CIBC, BMO, and Scotiabank, go up to 3.45%, from 3.2%.