“Although the rate of growth in the Canadian economy has slowed in recent quarters, there is still optimism amongst businesses and the lenders that support them. With many businesses still recording growth, particularly in the small business segment, they are willing to take on credit to help manage their day-to-day operations and invest for expansion”
Matthew Fabian, Director, Research and Industry Insights
Average balances per business borrower grew over the past year for most categories of credit products. This indicates that businesses have continued demand for credit and that lenders are making additional credit available—a positive formula for growth. Importantly, delinquency rates, defined as accounts with payments 90 or more days past due (DPD) remained low at 1.95% for September 2019, which represented an improvement of 26 basis points (bps) compared to the same period in 2018.
“With the economic outlook remaining uncertain, it will be critical for businesses to maintain access to credit to finance their operations and investments. It is important lenders take the time to understand their needs and avoid uniform underwriting and portfolio management strategies. There are clear regional variations in performance, and by looking at both business credit performance and the credit performance of business owners, banks can apply a more informed view of the overall lending risk involved”
Matthew Fabian, Director, Research and Industry Insights
Business Lending Barometer: Insights
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