The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Oct. 31, edition that Canada's new mortgage rules are driving people away from banks and into the arms of private lenders. The Globe's Marina Strauss writes that a study by land registry company Teranet and Toronto real estate broker John Pasalis shows private lenders are especially gaining ground in the market for mortgage refinancings. Ms. Strauss explains that many homeowners use refinancings to increase the size of their existing mortgages to consolidate and pay off other debts, such as credit cards. In the second quarter of 2018, 20 per cent of mortgage refinancings in the Greater Toronto Area came from private lenders, a 67-per-cent increase from the same quarter of 2016, the report said. Private lenders accounted for 6.8 per cent of new mortgages for homes that sold in the second quarter this year, up from 4.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2016. Mr. Pasalis, who is president of Realosophy Realty, said it makes sense that private lenders are gaining market share most quickly for refinancings because they often involve more indebted borrowers who are even less likely now to be able to qualify for conventional loans from banks.