The TSX has been showing some very promising numbers lately. A few months ago, financial forecasters set an invisible mark of 10,000 for the TSX - a mark that has just been (surprisingly) surpassed. While this news certainly rings optimistic throughout financial halls, it does not equate total economic optimism. In fact, there's an altogether different kind of story brewing when the entire Canadian economic picture is taken into consideration.



According to a recent report in the Globe and Mail, "the index hasn't closed above 10,000 since November." Still, forecasters are warning the general public that this is only one sign "...that a recovery may be slowly taking root." The problem is that outside of the stock market realm, things just aren't looking overly optimistic.

While "...these data are certainly impressive when looked at in isolation...the recent downward trend in overall building activity and the fact that levels of activity are still soft overall, one cannot hand too much optimism on these numbers" (Globe and Mail). This is a very real sentiment that Canadian banks are truly taking to heart.

Even though there might be some kind of light at the end of this bleak economic tunnel, Canadian banks are not yet giving out loans as freely and as easily as they once did. On the contrary, traditional lenders are still holding onto their funds with a white-knuckled fist. This has prompted many consumers to head directly for private asset based lenders that are more forgiving, and (perhaps) more optimistic.

Modern Canadian consumers are now heavily reliant upon private asset-based lenders for various types of loans. From car repair loans to general loans, private lenders are not as quick to judge consumers are traditional lenders are. In the wake of the recent news that the TSX has reached the (seemingly unattainable) 10,000 mark, nothing has shifted within the realm of traditional lenders. Still, private lenders continue to remain unshaken by the economic crisis.

An end to the current Canadian economic crisis might be somewhere in distant sight, but, for now, traditional lenders aren't taking their gaze off of the bare truth - the economy is still in crisis mode. Until every aspect of the economy begins to turn around, traditional lenders aren't likely to begin doling out loans once more. Luckily for those consumers in need, private asset based lenders are more than willing to help out where traditional lenders are not.