By Dana Flavelle | 2012/03/09 07:00:00 Four major Canadian banks slashed their mortgage rates – hoping to entice more borrowers – even as Canada’s central bank again warned that consumers are carrying too much household debt.

Mortgage rates below EU average By Geoff Percival Saturday, March 10, 2012 Mortgage interest rates were significantly lower than the eurozone average, in January, according to latest figures from the Central Bank. The most recent monthly retail interest rate statistics, covering January and published yesterday, show that the average interest rate on outstanding mortgage loans, with an original maturity of over five years — which account for 99% of all outstanding mortgages in the Irish market — was 2.98%, as of the end of January; having fallen by 44 basis points since the end of last September.