Friday, November 21, 2008

Bank of Montreal - what were they thinking?

I saw a commercial recently for Bank of Montreal which is a national bank in Canada. The particular product it was advertising was its "Home Essentials Package". Basically, it is a package of things to know and bank services people should be aware of when buying their first house. I nearly fell off the couch when I saw this commercial. Just like in the US, Canadian mortgage and credit markets are a little leery of taking risks. That being said, you have the Bank of Montreal advertising this product which is strange because not many are in the market to buy a house unless they are rich. What were they thinking? The bank itself has been exposed to the sub-prime mortgage melt down although due to Canadian banking regulations, not as exposed as their American cousins. I know of no one who wants to buy a house right now so they just spent millions of dollars on a commercial for a product that almost nobody will be using for the next 2 to 3 years. So, whats the point?