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We spoke with FINTRAC last week to confirm what we thought we knew about mortgage broker 'know your client' (KYC) and ongoing monitoring obligations.

Here's what a spokesperson told us:

On when KYC checks are required

Most Canadian mortgage shoppers seldom ponder how U.S. politics could shock their borrowing costs. Depending on how Tuesday's presidential election goes, they probably should.

The bond market has been warning about this election's fiscal risks since September. It's all starting to look like a slow-motion train wreck, except the train is filled with mortgage rates.

In the analysis that follows, we examine whether Trump or Harris could indirectly hike Canadians' mortgage bills.

Borrowers are often told that different things drive fixed and variable mortgage rates. The Bank of Canada guides variable rates, mortgagors are told, while the bond market steers fixed rates.

That's largely true, but fixed and variable rates are actually more siblings than distant cousins.

Canada's FINTRAC rules have hit the mortgage broker industry like a piano falling from the sky. Almost three weeks after FINTRAC started in the mortgage industry, we're getting emails from brokers at top brokerages still confused about their obligations. This includes brokerages that tout their compliance records, which shall remain nameless. It's a good thing no one's getting audited for a while because industry failure rates might be north of 1 in 4.

Some banks are hawking popular 3-year terms for 4.14% to 4.29%, or even less for fat loan amounts.

In some instances, for strong borrowers with $600,000+ loan amounts, leading status brokers are getting 3.99% on discretion. We've seen multiple commitments at that rate in the last 10 days. Select banks have been that generous even for uninsured mortgages.