Business Credit Availability Program Expansion & Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility Creation

On May 11^th, the Federal Government announced an expansion of the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) and established the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF). BCAP is expanding to include mid-sized companies with larger financing needs. Business Development Canada (BDC) and Export Development Bank of Canada (EDC) will deploy these programs through financial institutions to provide loans of up to $60 million per company and guarantees of up to $80 million for mid-market businesses.

The LEEFF is designed to provide bridge financing to Canada’s largest employers in order to keep their operations going during the pandemic.

Employers must:

• Have annual revenues of more than $300 million
• Be looking for financing of $60 million or more
• Have significant operations or large numbers of employees in Canada
• Disclose their climate action plans

Employers cannot:

• Be involved in any ongoing insolvency proceedings
• Pay their executives “excessive salaries”
• Have been found guilty of tax evasion

Further details on both programs are still being worked out and information on application processes is expected shortly.