Alternative lending is playing a larger role in Canada’s housing market as affordability pressures, tighter lending rules and changing employment trends challenge prospective homebuyers. Industry participants say demand is growing among borrowers who do not fit traditional bank lending models, including entrepreneurs and self-employed Canadians.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Bryan Jaskolka, CEO of CMI Financial Group, about the company’s new $100-million financing agreement with Royal London Asset Management, investor confidence in the Canadian housing market and how alternative lenders are helping borrowers access financing outside traditional banking channels.
Key Takeaways
- Alternative lenders are increasingly serving borrowers who fall outside traditional bank underwriting requirements, including self-employed Canadians and entrepreneurs.
- CMI Financial Group secured a $100-million committed financing facility from Royal London Asset Management to expand residential mortgage lending capacity.
- Canadian mortgage arrears and delinquency rates remain relatively low compared with other major global economies, supporting confidence in the market.
- Industry participants say stricter post-financial crisis regulations have pushed some creditworthy borrowers toward non-bank lenders.
- Reducing development barriers and lowering housing acquisition costs could help improve housing affordability and supply in Canada.
Read the full transcript below:
ROGER: CMI Financial Group just announced today it received funding from Royal London Asset Management. This means more financial support to help Canadians achieve home ownership through alternative lending at a time when home ownership is declining. Here to discuss this and more is Bryan Jaskolka, CEO of CMI Financial Group. Bryan, thank you very much for joining us.
BRYAN: Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here.
ROGER: All right, how much is this funding and what are the plans for it?
BRYAN: The funding is for a committed $100 million. We intend to use the money to help facilitate additional home ownership and support the Canadian borrowing community. The experience that we’ve had is that the ability to utilize funds on a fast and effective basis will really help improve our ability to deliver for Canadian homeowners.
ROGER: Gavin?
GAVIN: The fact you’ve got a major U.K. asset manager expressing confidence in the Canadian home market, even though there have been some very negative headlines from places like Toronto and Vancouver, must be fairly encouraging for a lender like yourself.
BRYAN: Absolutely. Our view, as well as theirs, is that this is really a long-term play on the Canadian marketplace. Current fundamentals may appear to be weak, but on a medium- and long-term basis, we think there’s a lot of strength in the underlying Canadian marketplace and that this facility will really help empower us and reduce execution risk as part of our platform. We think it’s a strong vote of confidence in the overall CMI platform and the enterprise nature of how we operate.
ROGER: You mentioned that the market is challenging right now and a lot of people are unsure of what to do. What gives you the confidence that this is only short term as opposed to maybe medium or longer term?
BRYAN: When you look at the Canadian marketplace as a whole in the global context, the numbers actually are not too bad. Some of the headline stories are focused around very specific micro-markets or specific asset classes and, ultimately, there is downward pressure on those. But in our view, those pressures have come about due to very specific circumstances, obviously asset price inflation as a result of the run-up post-COVID-19 and low interest rates, and then high interest rates on a short-duration basis as a result of inflation. While inflation is starting to percolate up a little bit due to oil prices, our view is that the underlying resilience of the Canadian market has actually been quite strong. Delinquency rates, when compared with other major economies globally, are actually pretty reasonable.
GAVIN: Would that be because in Canada lenders have the ability to actually reclaim the asset? You can’t just mail the keys back and walk away. That was certainly one of the distinguishing features in the global financial crisis and one of the reasons for the strength in the Canadian market.
BRYAN: I think that’s certainly talked about often and, in our experience, I would agree with that statement. Our data shows that overall performance is enhanced as a result of the fact homeowners do have an obligation to the debt beyond the actual property itself. But there are also decades of data that show Canadians really prioritize and focus on making their mortgage payments on time. I think that’s a bit of a cultural thing in combination with, as you mentioned, the fact loans in Canada tend to be full recourse.
ROGER: And with the regulatory landscape, are there things you would like to see changed, strengthened or eased up on when it comes to some of the rules and regulations?
BRYAN: We’re actually generally favourable on the rules and regulations that have come about in the marketplace. A lot of this came from the post-financial crisis period and was designed to help keep the Canadian marketplace and overall banking system robust and intact. We think it’s doing its job, but at the same time it does have inadvertent consequences, and that has resulted in pushing otherwise creditworthy borrowers into the alternative and non-bank sector. That’s part of where companies like CMI have come to grow and thrive.
I think overall the regulatory environment is robust. Some changes that have come about related to HST and trying to improve the cost of ownership, especially acquisition, and foster new development are areas that could become beneficial to the economy if governments are able to reduce red tape and ultimately help foster more development and bring down the overall entry point for new housing.
GAVIN: Would you say some of the creditworthy borrowers who regulations have made it difficult for to access more established lenders would be new immigrants because they don’t yet have the credit history in Canada? That’s where people like CMI come in.
BRYAN: That’s definitely one of the cohorts, for sure, but I wouldn’t say it’s the only cohort. In our view, one of the more prominent groups is actually business-for-self borrowers. The economy has changed. People are working multiple jobs, there are a lot of startups going on and governments are trying to encourage new entrepreneurship and businesses. It’s very challenging for somebody who is self-employed to go to the bank and obtain financing.
Banks are really designed to lend to stable employed borrowers who have a consistent payment history. That’s a wonderful cohort and a big part of the Canadian economy, but there are also many borrowers who historically would have fit into the banking channel and, because of the regulatory environment, are no longer able to qualify there. We’re helping to give people access to money to buy a home, refinance their home and take out equity to start a business. Certainly, newcomers to Canada are part of that story, but not the only story.
ROGER: And it must be more challenging for you assessing these people because there are so many factors now when people come and apply.
BRYAN: One hundred per cent. We take a multi-faceted approach. People would call CMI a little bit of a story-based lender. We really try to understand the borrower. We want to understand how they’re going to be able to pay us. Most importantly for us, we want to make sure we’re being additive to them and helping them achieve their goal, whether it’s buying a home or refinancing. We’ve found success for us comes when we’re bringing success to our customers, so the two really go hand in hand from my perspective.
ROGER: All right, we have to wrap it up there, Bryan, but thanks very much for joining us.
BRYAN: Great to be here. Thank you so much.
ROGER: Bryan Jaskolka, CEO of CMI Financial Group.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the May 11, 2026 interview with Brian Jaskolka are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
