Why this alternative lender's CEO isn't afraid of the mortgage cliff

financialpost.com:

Andrew Moor: Definitely, most people can. The employment rate is staying strong so people have income and they’ll be able to pay their mortgages. It may require putting in a bit of an extra effort or an extra shift. It may require reducing spending elsewhere. But I think the vast majority of people can handle their mortgage payments, there’s no doubt. There are some who got caught out a little bit on variable-rate mortgages in the rising-rate environment — perhaps things were a bit tight in the first place and maybe the income isn’t coming in quite as strongly — so some people will have some challenges but the vast majority of Canadian mortgage holders will be able to handle it quite comfortably.

AM: In our case, about 80 per cent of our mortgage holders have mortgages that either have already been renewed at these higher interest rates or were originated at higher rates. So again, I feel some customers are suddenly finding it a bit of a struggle, but the vast majority are able to produce the income required to service their mortgage debt.

AM: I think the mortgage cliff is a bit overstated, frankly, even as a concept. When I talk to our customers, they understand what they’re about to face. So even the people that haven’t renewed yet, they’re socking away a little bit more money to make up for the pending higher payment when they do renew. The mortgage market, the housing market, is a very complex market. Most Canadians are pretty sensible about their financial affairs and really understand what they’re about to face. The idea that all of a sudden, you wake up Monday at a much higher rate and will be surprised by this, for most people is not true. I find our customers are much more thoughtful about these things. People