Why don't Canadian banks fail like American ones?

Interesting article. And here I thought Canada was supposed to be a bastion of oppressive, progressive "compassion." Which it now is on many social issues. But it seems Canadians are pretty hard-nosed and banker-friendly when it comes to mortages. Perhaps their success during the Great Depression taught them something: No mortgage tax deductions, no loans to poor credit risks required by the government in order to keep your "good guy" rating, mortgage insurance coupled with realistic assessments of the value of properties, etc. And foreclosure doesn't get the homeowner off the hook financially. Cruel. Heartless. At least it seems that way until a major world financial crisis comes. Then these same old-fashioned, boring, understandable, conservative, cruel, unfair, elitist policies seem benevolent. And the progressive "compassionate" mortgage regulations in the United States start to seem cruel. What good are "compassionate" regulations which become cruel in hard times?

The conservative pro-banking approach in Canada has led to higher rates of home ownership, more stable home prices, more home equity among borrowers and far lower rates of foreclosure than in the United States. It's sort of like a paradox. But not really. Because the Canadian system is apparently still pretty much based on financial honesty and realism. It's not based on people getting special deals from banks via their favorite politicians and bureaucrats. And it's apparently not based on certain favored financial institutions getting government subsidies or special, fancy arrangements approved to compensate for the extra "compassionate" risks encouraged or required by government policies.