Echelon & CLA Announce Strategic Relationship

TORONTO, August 10, 2020 – As part of a strategic relationship signed between
Echelon Capital Markets (Echelon) and the Canadian Lenders Association (CLA),
Echelon has officially been named as the Preferred Financial Advisor to the CLA,
effective immediately.

Echelon’s investment banking team has advised a number of CLA members with their
capital and M&A needs since the association’s inception. As part of its commitment to
support the non-bank lending eco-system, Echelon will be offering the CLA membership
with preferred access to its advisory services. This status also reflects Echelon’s role in
advising CLA members on raising the growth capital required to drive the innovation
required in the sector.

Karanjit S. Bhugra, Echelon’s Co-Head of Capital Markets and a CLA director said:
“We’re delighted by this agreement with the CLA. This agreement is a testament to
Echelon’s commitment to seeing the specialty finance sector grow in Canada. A robust
specialty finance community in Canada will be necessary to address the capital needs
of SMEs and individuals during an important period of required economic growth and
job creation. Our financial services coverage group looks forward to solidifying our role
as the pre-eminent financial advisor to the specialty finance sector as they look to
service these needs.”

Bhugra joined Echelon in March with a mandate to launch a premier, full-service
investment banking platform to support Canada’s mid-market corporate community. Its
combined offerings present clear advantages for prospective and existing clients,
including delivering a one-stop approach to the balance sheet and advisory needs for
corporate clients.

The CLA is composed of 80 consumer and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME)
lenders, representing $3.5 billion of economic activity and over a million businesses and
individual Canadians supported.

Tal Schwartz, Head of Strategy at CLA noted: “Among ventures with high-growth rates
and corresponding capital requirements, the increased reliance on non-bank lenders
makes transparent and ethical lending practices all the more important. We’ve worked
closely with Echelon and we know that our values and standards are completely
aligned. They share our commitment to fair markets and access to capital.”