The method, plainly.

FixWise jointly calibrates a Bank of Canada policy-rate model to eligible Montréal Exchange COA and CRA bid/ask midpoints. Each contract is repriced using compounded daily CORRA, actual reference-period dates, Toronto banking-day weights, and published realized CORRA for elapsed days. COA runs from the first business day of one month to the first business day of the next; CRA runs between quarterly third Wednesdays.

There are fewer independent contract prices than future meeting rates. A disclosed minimum-jump regularization selects one smooth sequence of meeting changes; those estimates are not uniquely implied by prices or probabilities. Quotes need two sides, a spread no wider than two basis points, and open interest of at least 100. Every fitted contract must be within half its bid/ask spread plus a half-basis-point quote tick.

The current CORRA-policy basis is held constant. No convexity or risk-premium correction is applied. Official 2026 and 2027 announcement calendars are used; later meeting dates are projected. The graph displays every announcement, while mortgage rates change the following day. After the final covered contract, the last model rate is held constant and labelled as an assumption, not a market forecast.

A failed live refresh can use a visibly labelled calibrated snapshot for at most seven calendar days, and never after a subsequent policy decision takes effect. Otherwise new comparisons are blocked until valid market data returns.

The app estimates future lender prime by preserving today’s prime spread, which is the difference between the lender’s current prime rate and the Bank of Canada target rate.

It then applies the borrower’s contractual variable discount or premium to projected prime. For example, prime minus 0.90% remains prime minus 0.90% throughout the projection.

Lender prime is assumed to change with the policy rate on the day after an announcement. Actual lender timing and spreads can differ.

For adjustable-rate mortgages, payments are recalculated as projected rates change, using the current balance, remaining amortization, and payment frequency.

The model uses nominal rates compounded semiannually. Within a normal payment period, its contractual periodic year fraction is split in proportion to calendar days at each effective rate. Accrual includes the opening date and excludes the payment date: a change on payment day cannot reprice the preceding period. The final short maturity period instead uses actual days over 365 with the same semiannual-equivalent growth convention.

Adjustable payments reset on the first scheduled payment date on or after a rate change, based on the period-opening balance and remaining amortization. Accelerated biweekly and weekly payments remain one-half or one-quarter of the equivalent monthly payment. Automatic ordinary schedules adjust their final full-amortization payment to clear the remaining balance; lender-entered overrides and shorter renewal terms are not forced to pay off.

For fixed-payment variable mortgages, the payment stays fixed unless the entered payment is changed. If interest is higher than the payment, the schedule flags negative amortization risk.

The fixed comparison uses the actual fixed conversion offer entered by the user. It does not substitute a generic advertised fixed rate.

FixWise compares projected interest, payments, ending balance, payment range, and break-even fixed rate over the selected comparison period.

The breakpoint analysis shows the market-implied result plus the rate-path move where the opposite choice starts to make economic sense.

The recommendation is intentionally limited. It says whether the model leans fixed, variable, or neutral based on the assumptions entered. It does not tell a borrower what they should do.

The market-implied curve reflects market pricing at a point in time. It is not a guarantee. Actual Bank of Canada decisions, lender prime rates, and fixed conversion offers may be higher or lower.

Public quote pages are acceptable for this prototype, but production use should move to a licensed market-data feed or an approved benchmark distribution channel.

The app does not read the borrower’s mortgage contract. It does not verify penalty formulas, portability features, prepayment privileges, cashback clauses, or lender-specific conversion terms.