Canadian banks and mortgage lenders are asking the Canada Revenue Agency for electronic access to private federal tax records to validate borrowers’ income.

The Canadian Bankers Association, in a recent submission to the Senate banking committee, described the measure as a fraud prevention solution.

“This would allow banks to reduce mortgage fraud that serves to drive up costs for borrowers,” the Bankers Association chief economist Alex Ciappara told the committee in the submission.

The Association, in its proposal, is asking the Canada Revenue Agency to release information from line 15000 of borrowers’ T1 annual tax return—the line that reveals gross income.

“That can be a technology-based solution to reduce mortgage fraud and thus help with mortgage costs,” Mr. Ciappara said, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter.