The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that the threat of an economic downturn has pressured consumers and businesses, prompting banks to earmark more money for potential loan defaults in recent years. The Globe's Stefanie Marotta writes, however, that some lenders are starting to moderate the amount of money being set aside. Toronto-Dominion Bank set aside $1-billion in provisions for credit losses -- the funds banks set aside to cover loans that may default. That was lower than analysts expected and less than the bank reserved in the same quarter last year. Economic uncertainty, inflation and higher interest rates have weighed on the housing market and business sentiment, tempering demand for lending, in particular in real estate secured lending (RESL). "The consumer continues to be resilient; however, when you look at RESL, the rates are a little bit higher than a few months ago, and that is putting pressure on volume for RESL," TD chief financial officer Kelvin Tran told The Globe. "On the business side, anecdotally, when you talk to clients over time, they say, 'Well, I've been pausing for some time now and I'm ready to invest.' So, there's confidence in the outlook of Canada."