mortgage with an interest rate of less than one per cent? That’s what HSBC, Canada’s seventh-largest bank by assets, is now advertising.The lender’s website now shows it is offering a new five-year variable mortgage rate of a mind-boggling low 0.99 per cent.
It is a first in Canadian history in terms of bank-advertised rates, according to veteran mortgage broker Robert McLister.“This is a milestone rate, akin to landmark rates like BMO’s 2.99 per cent 5-year fixed in 2012 and Meridian Credit Union’s 1.49 per cent fixed in 2015,” McLister, mortgage editor at Rates.ca and founder of rates comparisons site RateSpy.com, wrote in a blog post discussing the new HSBC offering.The rate represents a discount of 1.46 per cent on HSBC’s current prime.