Canada Banks Approve $2 Billion of Business Loans in Plan Debut

(Bloomberg) -- Canada’s five biggest banks approved about 69,000 in loans on the opening day of the federal government’s relief program for small businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.

That totals C$2.76 billion ($2 billion) if every client took the full amount allowed under the Canada Emergency Business Account, which offers government-guaranteed loans of as much as C$40,000 that are interest-free through 2022. The government announced the C$25 billion plan on March 27, and lenders started accepting applications today.

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, had 19,500 applications by 4 p.m., according to spokesman AJ Goodman. That would equal about C$780 million if every client asked for the full amount. Toronto-Dominion Bank, the second-largest lender, completed more than 25,000 loans, which could equal C$1 billion.

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Bank of Nova Scotia said it had processed 7,500 loans amounting to more than C$300 million as of 3:30 p.m., while Bank of Montreal said it processed applications from over 6,000 clients for more than C$250 million in the first day. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had done about 10,775 loan applications totaling C$431 million by 3:45 p.m.

“It’s clear that there is an urgent need for this new source of funding,” CIBC personal and business banking group head Laura Dottori-Attanasio said in an emailed statement. “Every entrepreneur who banks with us wants to see their business through this challenging time.”

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