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Press Releases
NACCA and CIBC Announce Initiative to Better Serve Aboriginal Business
July 13, 2005
- Signing ceremony takes place at the Assembly of First Nations 25th Annual General Assembly -
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I., July 20, 2004 – The National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA) and CIBC today announced an initiative to better serve Aboriginal businesses. Under the initiative, CIBC will provide NACCA advice and assistance on NACCA's development of an Aboriginal Financial Institution (AFI) Loan Syndication Pool (LSP). The LSP is intended to provide funding to Aboriginal businesses with large borrowing needs (more than $250,000). The signing ceremony took place at the Assembly of First Nations 25th Annual General Assembly in Charlottetown.
"There has been tremendous growth in Aboriginal entrepreneurship since AFIs were created 15 years ago, and our initiative with CIBC today will help Aboriginal businesses get to the next level," said Jake Heron, Vice Chair, National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association. "When we were looking for assistance with this project, CIBC stood out among the banks because they showed the greatest understanding of and commitment to what we wanted to achieve with the loan syndication pool."
CIBC's advice and assistance, which will be provided at no cost to NACCA, will help NACCA develop and manage the LSP, including the management practices, procedures and policies required in respect of the LSP. In addition, CIBC will assist in establishing application practices for the LSP, including risk assessments and credit reviews.
"The loan syndication pool will help ensure that Aboriginal businesses have access to the capital that will help them succeed," said Rob Paterson, Senior Vice President, Small Business Banking, CIBC. "We expect that this additional capital will enable Aboriginal businesses to create thousands of jobs, which is good for the community, good for the NACCA AFIs and good for Canada."
If an Aboriginal business has borrowing requirements which are too large for an individual AFI to provide, the business will be able to apply for funding from the LSP. The LSP has the potential to increase the $70 million in loans available to Aboriginal businesses through AFIs by nearly 30 per cent.
About the National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association
The National Aboriginal Capital Corporation Association (NACCA), which was incorporated in 1997, provides support and services to Aboriginal Financial Institutions and Aboriginal-owned business organizations in rural and urban communities. NACCA's services include institutional capacity building, training, access to capital and partnerships. NACCA has a membership of 57 Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs). AFIs are community owned and controlled by Aboriginal boards drawn from the areas the AFI serves. These institutions provide customized financial products and services in their respective communities. NACCA's founding principle is respecting the autonomy of its members recognizing that autonomy is the key success factor for these institutions. Currently, NACCA is developing several new products and services as well as delivering existing ones nationwide to its members.
About CIBC Small Business
CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with just under 470,000 Canadian Small Business Banking customers. CIBC is committed to helping small businesses succeed and has more than 1,300 business advisors across the country working with entrepreneurs to help them achieve their business and personal financial goals. In June 2004, CIBC announced a $1 million commitment to support a new program in agricultural entrepreneurship – the first of its kind in Canada – at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture. Other CIBC contributions to Canada's Aboriginal community include support for the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, the CIBC Achievers scholarship program and "Blueprint for the Future" Aboriginal Career Fairs. CIBC is also one of Canada's largest corporate donors and in 2003 contributed more than $48 million worldwide, including $25 million in Canada. To find other news releases and information about CIBC, visit the bank's Press Centre at www.cibc.com.
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