© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Royal Bank of Canada CEO David McKay poses for a portrait at the Thomson Reuters office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Gary He/File Photo
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By Nivedita Balu
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s big banks are preparing to set aside more rainy-day funds in the new fiscal year to deal with rising bad debts as their customers struggle with record borrowing costs and a slower economy.
The CEOs of the big six banks, who spoke at the RBC Capital Markets Canadian Bank CEO Conference on Tuesday, said the high interest rate environment casts a shadow, although they expect margins to improve.
“We still expect kind of peak PCL (provisions for credit losses) to come through in 2024, as we still will see consumers struggle with higher rates,” Dave McKay, the head of Canada’s biggest bank, Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:), said at the conference.
McKay said the bank is looking to expand in the…
