Vermont Laws Shut Door on Bust, Boom

The Wall Street Journal has a story about Vermont and subprime loans: …For the past five years, as home loans went to even Americans with poor credit and no proof of steady work, Ms. Todd couldn’t get a mortgage in spite of her good credit and low debt. Vermont banks told the self-employed landscaper that her income stream was unreliable. The 32-year-old changed careers, taking a permanent job as a teacher, to boost her chances.

Stratospheric consumer borrowing is a worry for policymakers but so far it’s been nothing but good news for Canadian banks, which have enjoyed a string of outsize profits driven largely by retail lending. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported results Thursday, both ahead of analyst expectations, even as the Bank of Canada voiced its sharpest warning yet on overextended households and the potential for a housing bust.