Asian and European banks, too, view Canadian lenders as appealing because of the attractiveness of the size and scale of certain yield opportunities.
Carl De Souza of Morningstar DBRS notes that while Fairstone and EQB’s recent acquisitions reflect a push for scale and diversification, Canada’s small market limits major M&A prospects for 2026. https://t.co/GI4AkINIwY
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) December 12, 2025
That’s not to say those entities aren’t approaching the space with caution, and Sammut highlighted a few hurdles facing Canadian lenders hoping to secure international investment.
“The first one is going to be currency risk, but that’s usually pretty easily hedged,” he said. “The second one is going to be tax burden – so depending on how these vehicles are structured, some of them are going to be a bit more tax-heavy than others.”
Still, he described tax mitigation strategies as “fairly easy” for the right vehicle. Another challenge can be addressing differences between markets – for instance, if international lenders are more used to buying longer-term paper than the shorter-term paper typically seen in Canada, even in its prime space.
Canada viewed internationally as a resilient real estate market
On the whole, though, Canada’s housing market has a reputation in international circles as a consistently strong one, even notwithstanding the slowdown seen in recent years.