How credit unions are navigating a turbulent 2026 market
“Top of mind is that there just isn’t enough volume,” Gaudio said. “It’s very, very difficult… to maintain asset size, because unless we expand our risk tolerance and do mortgages at a higher loan-to-value at a time when prices are declining. That’s a real challenge, especially for small boutique lenders.”
Gaudio said IC Savings has opted to hold its position rather than chase volume, steering clear of high-LTV lending. “We do very few mortgages at the 80% loan-to-value,” he said. “And so we don’t seem to have a lot of the problems that the big banks have in terms of defaults and powers of sale today.”
But there’s also opportunity in the market, not least in serving borrowers who fall outside standard bank approval criteria. Tighter lending standards among Canada’s banking giants mean borrowers often don’t qualify in the current market not because of recklessness, but rather circumstance.
When dealing with those customers, understanding the story – and the “why” of how their current situation developed – is crucial, according to Gaudio.
“With somebody that might have had a difficulty – having gone through a health problem, a period of unemployment, a marital breakup – we’re much more attentive to those human stories and try to resolve their problems,” he said.
