The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday, Oct. 29, edition that the most visible scars from a crisis that pushed Home Capital Group to the brink of insolvency last year are beginning to fade. The Globe's James Bradshaw writes that the bunker mentality that weighed on many employees has eased, and the alternative lender is turning a profit while gradually refilling its mortgage-business pipeline. Home Capital now faces a new array of challenges, including stiffer competition for clients and prospective homeowners who are already feeling increasing financial pressure from rising interest rates. Just as Home Capital looked to be recovering, some of the air pressure went out of major urban housing markets, and there are now more lenders battling for slices of a smaller pie. That is partly a response to the vulnerability of Home Capital, which had been Canada's clear leader in "near-prime" mortgage lending until last year's troubles, and is now determined to reclaim the top spot. The question on investors' minds is no longer one of survival, but rather how profitable can the new Home Capital be. It now relies far less on cheap demand deposits brokered by investment dealers to finance its mortgage loans.