Same scenario in the states. A few of my finance colleagues feel there could be another banking housing bust coming up. People will soon start to default on their loans and we will live it all again. I know a few friends that were displaced and lost jobs and have stopped making their mortgage payment. They have said the bank is working with them. Some are pulling cash out of their 401K's and IRA's to sustain themselves. De Ja Vu..........
Interesting note, The US gov announced that they are allowing people to access their retirement accts and not be penalized the 10% penalty for early withdrawal. On the surface it all seemed like a nice way to assist. Of course then comes the fine print that you have to put it all back within 3 years or suffer not only that 10% penalty but compounded thereafter. What this tells me is the govt doesn't really care or want to help. They allow access to your money but back end you later. Those people who take out cash will be under water for quite sometime. Putting it back within 3 years is not likely, so they will suffer again. When I first saw the info sent to me by my IRA holder I thought, "Perfect. I will pull out the max allowable in cash and not be penalized and put in my bank as liquid". Of course the fine print nixed that idea.