The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that with 14 per cent of Canadians with mortgages set to renew their loans this year, the chief executive officers of the country's big banks say they are confident the resulting interest-rate hikes will not crush customers or lead to a wave of defaults. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says that several bank CEOs suggested Tuesday that customers can expect to pay somewhere in the range of $5,000 more per year on average, but said Canadians are sitting on savings, earning higher wages and ready to slash their discretionary spending to avoid giving up their homes. The executives, speaking at a conference in Toronto, continued to strike a cautious tone on the Canadian economy and its prospects for a soft landing. However, they also projected a decline in interest rates later this year, a factor that should work in the favour of the large majority of mortgage borrowers whose loans come up for renewal next year, in 2026 or after. Royal Bank CEO Dave McKay said he "fully expects" that interest rates "will come down significantly by 2025 and 2026." In the meantime, he added, the lender's customers who have already faced renewals have been able to absorb higher monthly costs.