Canada to buy up to $25 bln in insured mortgages (Reuters)

By Ka Yan Ng 5 minutes ago TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada plans to buy up to C$25 billion in insured mortgages to help cushion banks from the global financial crisis and address a "scarcity" of private-sector lending, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Friday. Flaherty stressed the program is not a bank bailout because the government is not buying equity, and that the mortgages are "high-quality assets" that are already insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), a government-owned agency. The plan differs from the $700 billion rescue plan in the United States in which the government announced it would purchase toxic assets from financial institutions. "Our mortgage system is sound," Flaherty said at a news conference in Ottawa. "However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the continuing disruption of global... [read full story]