The Canadian government has announced a further measure to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and to help maintain stability in the financial system.

It will launch a revised Insured Mortgage Purchase Program (IMPP) which will see up to $50 billion of insured mortgage pools purchased through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

It means that banks and mortgage lenders will have stable funding to continue to lend to consumers and businesses.

The government highlights that this does not pose additional risk to taxpayers as the insured mortgages being purchased are already backed by the government.

“These events remind us all how crucial it is to have a safe and affordable place to live. CMHC exists in part to buffer the effects of events such as the COVID-19 virus pandemic, which affect the health and stability of Canada’s financial system. This is what we do. We are part of a federal team that is working hard together to ease the impacts on Canadians,” said Evan Siddall, president and CEO of CMHC.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced measures to shore up finances of the institutions it regulates and the suspension of the planned changes to the mortgage stress test.’