‘The Business Credit Availability Program will help to address the critical short-term funding needs of Canadian commercial enterprises’
CIBC has launched its Export Development Corporation (EDC) Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), which provides businesses with as much as $6.25 million amid the crisis.
"Private enterprises are foundational to our economy as innovators, entrepreneurs and employers, but many are facing significant short-term cash flow challenges as a result of COVID-19," said Jon Hountalas, senior executive vice-president and group head of commercial banking and wealth management at CIBC. "The Business Credit Availability Program will help to address the critical short-term funding needs of Canadian commercial enterprises to support their ability to maintain operations today and be a driving force in our economic recovery going forward."
The EDC BCAP is available to both domestic and export-oriented companies as either a term loan or an operating credit to finance working capital requirements, and 80 per cent of the credit facility will be guaranteed by EDC.
CIBC has also deferred payments on mortgages, loans and lines of credit for its business clients, and also launched the Canada Emergency Business Account to meet the needs of small businesses.
The federal government has also announced it is committing $306.8 million in stimulus funding to support 6,000 small- and medium-sized Indigenous businesses across the country flowing through 59 different Aboriginal financial institutions in Canada.
