Canada Small Business Financing Act

Marginal note:Loan conditions

• 4 (1) The following conditions must be satisfied in respect of a loan, in addition to any further conditions that may be prescribed:

  • (a) the loan must be made by and with the consent of a lender to a borrower who meets the eligibility criteria set out in subsection (2);

  • (b) the loan must be in respect of a small business;

  • (c) the loan must be for an expenditure or commitment that falls within the scope of one or more prescribed classes of loans; and

  • (d) the portion of the cost of the expenditures and commitments to be financed by the loan must not exceed the prescribed limits.

• Marginal note:Criteria for eligibility

  (2) A borrower is eligible for a loan on application to a lender if, at the time the loan is made,

  • (a) the borrower meets the prescribed eligibility criteria;

  • (b) in the case of a loan made before April 1, 2009, the outstanding loan amount in relation to the borrower does not exceed $250,000 or any prescribed lesser amount;

  • (c) in the case of a loan made after March 31, 2009 but before the day on which paragraph (d) comes into force, the outstanding loan amount in relation to the borrower does not exceed $500,000 or any prescribed lesser amount, of which a maximum of $350,000 or any prescribed lesser amount is for a purpose other than the purchase or improvement of real property or immovables of which the borrower is or will become the owner;

  • (d) in the case of a loan made after June 22, 2015 but before the day on which paragraph (e) comes into force, the outstanding loan amount in relation to the borrower does not exceed $1,000,000 or any prescribed lesser amount, of which a maximum of $350,000 or any prescribed lesser amount is for a purpose other than the purchase or improvement of real property or immovables of which the borrower is or will become the owner; and

  • (e) in the case of a loan made on or after the day on which this paragraph comes into force, the outstanding loan amount in relation to the borrower does not exceed $1,150,000 or any prescribed lesser amount, of which maximum amounts may be prescribed for a loan other than a line of credit, a line of credit and prescribed classes of loans.

• Marginal note:Meaning of outstanding loan amount

  (3) The outstanding loan amount referred to in any of paragraphs (2)(b) to (e) is the aggregate of the amount of the proposed loan and the principal amount outstanding, in respect of the borrower and all borrowers that are related to that borrower within the meaning of the regulations, of all loans made under this Act and guaranteed business improvement loans made under the Small Business Loans Act.