Press Releases

Press Release August 10, 2021

Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the Upcoming Federal Budget

List of Recommendations ❖ Recommendation 1: That the government should, in accordance with the Advisory Committee on Open Banking’s recommendation,1 move forward quickly to implement a hybrid, made-in Canada system of consumer-directed finance. ❖ Recommendation 2: That the government should amend the Canadian Payments Act to ensure RPAA-regulated FinTechs are eligible to benefit from Payments […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release June 15, 2021

Crypto custodian Brane Capital Joins CLA, Launching Canada’s First Comprehensive Collateral Custody Solution for Crypto-Backed Loans

June 14, 2021 (Toronto) — The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) is pleased to welcome Brane Capital, Canada’s leading cryptocurrency and digital asset custodian, as Brane launches the first Canadian collateral custody solution for loans secured by crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Combining cutting-edge custody technology, private key management protocols, and customizable reporting capabilities, Brane’s […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 21, 2021

Canada’s 2021 Budget: The CLA’s Response

We are disappointed that the world-class innovation and experience of the Canadian fintech lending sector is not harnessed in Canada’s economic recovery plans as it has been successfully in the UK, US and Australia. We are pleased, however, that the government recognizes that the digital economy is critical to growing a more prosperous economy. Fintech […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 2, 2021

Response to Ontario High-Cost Credit Consultation

Response to the Alternative Financial Services: High-Cost Credit Consultation Paper March 30th, 2021 Introduction The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) supports the growth of companies that are in the business of lending, or providing other means of credit, to small businesses and individuals. We represent over 100 companies across Canada. Our members are fintech innovators and […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release February 15, 2021

Zūm Joins CLA as an Approved Vendor to Offer Lenders Best in Class Payment Technology

February 16, 2021 (Toronto) — The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) is pleased to welcome Zūm, a leader in fast and intelligent payment operations, into its membership as an approved vendor based on their ability to optimize borrower satisfaction and revenues through next generation payment solutions.  Zūm empowers lenders to offer efficient and cost-effective real-time funding […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release December 23, 2020

2020 Wrap Up in Canadian Lending

2020 has been a year marked with incredible resilience, recovery and innovation.  Though many industries played vital roles supporting Canada’s businesses and citizens through COVID, the lending industry deserves special recognition. This year lenders took extraordinary steps to support Canadian families and entrepreneurs. Many instituted relief programs, cut rates, and worked with all levels of […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release November 20, 2020

Alternative Credit Scoring in Canada

November 19, 2020 The Bank of Canada recently rained on hopes for a quick recovery from the economic impacts of the country’s coronavirus slowdown — a hope nurtured, many thought, by signs of economic resilience over the summer.  Alas, late in October, the Canadian central bank issued a Monetary Policy Report suggesting that hard times will continue, perhaps all […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release October 23, 2020

HES FinTech Joins Canadian Lenders Association to Drive Digital Lending Transformation Across Canada

The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) is pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership with HES FinTech, a leader in lending solutions for banks and fintechs. The HES-CLA partnership brings together in-depth expertise in lending software development and deployment, product ideation, and innovative tools to help support Canada’s lending community. With its […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release August 10, 2020

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 […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release June 22, 2020

Excluding Fintech Lending in the Time of COVID

By: Gary Schwartz, President of the Canadian Lenders Association This article originally appeared in the Globe & Mail   While governments globally have actively engaged their fintech lenders to help deliver loans to shuttered Main Street merchants, our government has chosen to exclude this burgeoning sector. It seems counterintuitive to ignore companies that pre-COVID had been […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release May 26, 2020

Covid-19 Small Business Survey Results (CLA)

Toronto, May 26th, 2020 – Canadian Lender Association has completed a comprehensive national survey in cooperation with its fintech lenders. CLA members finance over 100,000 micro, small and medium sized businesses nationally. The survey results indicate that even with the deployment of the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), small businesses struggle to overcome liquidity issues. […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release May 25, 2020

Truth in Advertising for Insolvency Trustees

Standardization of Public Disclosures  May 25, 2020, Ottawa – The CLA has serious concerns regarding the recent representations made by certain insolvency trustees on mainstream and social media, either via advertising or through public statements. It is our view that any advertising that encourages consumers to consider bankruptcy as a first course of action – […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 24, 2020

FDATA North America Endorses Canadian Lenders Association’s Proposal

April 24, 2020, Washington, DC & Toronto – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) North America today announced its endorsement of the Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) proposal to include financial technology (fintech) participation in Canada’s COVID-19-related financial relief programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While Canada’s Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP) should provide […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 23, 2020

Proposal to Develop, Implement and Administer a Small Business Emergency Funding Program

Canadian Lenders Association (“CLA”), in conjuection with Kilgour Williams Capital (“KWC”), is pleased to submit this proposal to develop, implement and administer an emergency funding program (the “Program”) to assist Canadian small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that may not be well served, by the Business Credit Availability Program (“BCAP”) being administered through […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 17, 2020

Ottawa in talks with fintechs on $2-billion plan to lend money to an additional 100,000 firms

A group of leading fintechs is in discussions with Ottawa on a proposal to provide $2 billion in emergency loans to up to 100,000 Canadian small businesses, The Logic has learned.  Representatives from Kilgour Williams Capital and the Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) have met with Finance Canada multiple times over the past month to fine-tune […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 3, 2020

Foreign Governments Working with Fintech to Distribute Aid to SMBs

Governments are looking to fintech platforms as way to effectively adjudicate and distribute aid to small businesses. Below are examples of how foreign governments are working with fintech and on what terms.     USA: Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) asks lenders to underwrite based on whether the borrower was in operation on Feb 15, not […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release April 3, 2020

A Message to Canadians Borrowers

Covid-19 has impacted the daily lives of millions of Canadian families from coast to coast. As individuals, we are all experiencing tremendous levels of financial stress, as are the small businesses that define our neighbourhoods. Our primary goal at the CLA is to play as active a role as possible in alleviating this financial pressure […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 30, 2020

Canadian Lenders Association Establishes COVID-19 Consumer Lending Working Group

March 30th, 2020 (Toronto)—The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) today announced the formation of a national working group to support consumer lenders in their response to COVID-19. The consumer lender working group will serve as an advisory committee and resource for CLA members and advocate on their behalf as ongoing actions are considered in efforts to […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 28, 2020

Canada’s Government Assistance Programs for SMBs Compared to Foreign Governments

COVID-19 fallout could force 1 in 4 small businesses to close doors permanently. Ottawa has responded with a stimulus package that included a wage subsidy, tax deferrals and billions in credit to keep SMBs afloat during this massive cashflow crisis. Please read the CLA’s Open Letter to Government, which outlines further actions that can be taken in […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 24, 2020

Open letter to the Government of Canada: Canadian small businesses need fintech lending options during COVID-19

The Canadian Lenders Association and its members ask the Government of Canada to extend their proposed economic stimulus for small businesses to include financial technology-driven lending options. March 24, 2020, 9:00AM EST (TORONTO, ON) The Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau The Honourable Bill Morneau The Honourable Mary Ng The Honourable Navdeep Bains The Honourable […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 24, 2020

Lettre ouverte au gouvernement du Canada : Les petites entreprises canadiennes ont besoin d’options alternatives de financement pendant la COVID-19

L’Association des Prêteurs Canadiens et ses membres demandent au gouvernement du Canada d’étendre les mesures de relance économique pour les petites entreprises afin d’inclure des options de financement par voie de technologie financière. Le 23 mars 2020 Cher Premier ministre Trudeau, M. Morneau, Mme Ng, M. Bains, Mme Freeland, M. Duclos et M. Rodriguez : […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 18, 2020

Canadian Lenders Association Establishes COVID-19 SMB Working Group

March 19th, 2020 (Toronto)—The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) today announced the formation of a national working group to support members’ response to COVID-19. The working group will serve as an advisory committee and resource for CLA members and advocate on their behalf as ongoing actions are considered in efforts to provide additional credit to small […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release March 11, 2020

Q1 2020 Regulatory Update

This quarterly update covers any consumer, commercial, and mortgage lending regulatory and policy activity on a provincial and federal level for the Q1 2020. The report details: Jurisdiction Name of Law/Regulation Brief Summary of Changes The report is prepared monthly by the Advocacy and Regulatory Committee of the Canadian Lenders Association. https://www.canadianlenders.org/committees/ Special thanks to […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release February 10, 2020

BMO, Cox & BFS Capital join Canadian Lenders Association Board

Feb 11th, 2019, Toronto, Canada – The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) today announced that Lyla Kanji, Head Loan Syndication & Specialty Finance, Canadian Commercial Banking at BMO Financial Group, Jerome Dwight, EVP of Cox Automotive Canada (Dealertrack) and Mark Ruddock, CEO of BFS Capital have joined as members of the association’s board. “We are very excited to expand the […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release December 16, 2019

Leaders-in-Lending Winners, presented by BMO Financial Group

Nov 20, 2019, Toronto, Canada. Canadian Lenders Association (CLA), the voice of the innovative business and consumer lending industry, announces the winners of the 2019 Leaders-in-Lending Awards. Wayne Pommen, CEO, Paybright –  paybright.com and Financeit  –  www.financeit.io won the Exectutive and Company award respectively. “We are proud to sponsor this year’s lenders award that recognizes the world-class […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release November 27, 2019

VoPay Joins Canadian Lenders Association to Support Digital Lending Growth Across Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) is please to announce that VoPay, a leader in payment technology innovation has become a member. The CLA provides its members with the tools to innovate and grow and to foster safe and ethical lending practices. Digital lending uses technology platforms and software to manage loan […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release November 12, 2019

OnDeck Canada CEO, Neil Wechsler, Announced as New Chair of Canadian Lenders Association

Nov 12th, 2019, Toronto, Canada – The Canadian Lenders Association (CLA) today announced Neil Wechsler, CEO of leading online small business lender, OnDeck Canada, as the new Chair of the CLA’s Board of Directors. Neil’s appointment comes with a renewed vision to ensure the CLA is the national leader in fostering transparency for innovative lending practices […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release November 11, 2019

CLA Announces the Leaders-in-Lending Awards, presented by BMO Financial Group

Nov 11, 2019, Toronto, Canada. Canadian Lenders Association (CLA), the voice of the innovative business and consumer lending industry, announces the Top 25 Lenders of 2019. “In partnership with BMO, we are excited to continue to celebrate innovation and leadership in Canada’s lending sector,” says Gary Schwartz, President of the CLA. “Today we announce the […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release November 5, 2019

The Canadian Lenders Association Reaffirms Industry Lending Values

Toronto. November 11th, 2019. Canadian Lenders Association (CLA), the voice of the innovative business and consumer lending industry, reaffirms its commitment to further transparent and ethical lending to Canadian borrowers nationally. “As an association that represents key aspects of Canada’s lending ecosystem including: policy, advocacy, standards, and innovation, it is important to renew and reaffirm […]

Read More chevron_right

Press Release July 30, 2019

July 2019 Regulatory Update

This monthly report covers any consumer and commercial Lending regulatory and policy activity on a provincial and federal level for the month of July. The report details: Jurisdiction Name of Law/Regulation Brief Summary of Changes The report is prepared monthly by the Advocacy and Regulatory Committee of the Canadian Lenders Association. https://www.canadianlenders.org/committees/ Special thanks to […]

Read More chevron_right