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Canadian banks to get millions in funds to administer government COVID-19 loan program for small businesses

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OTTAWA — Canada’s banks are likely to get tens of millions of dollars for managing the government’s loan program designed to get money in the hands of small businesses.

The government launched the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program on April 9, allowing businesses to apply for up to $40,000 in interest-free, government backed loans through their banks. If businesses manage to pay 75 per cent of the loan back by Dec. 31, 2022, the remaining 25 per cent of the loan will be forgiven.

Businesses also had to have a payroll of between $20,000 and $1.5 million to qualify for the program.

All of Canada’s major banks have programs up and running to help customers apply for the program and to date $15.3 billion has been extended to businesses across the country.

Under the previously undisclosed terms of the arrangement with banks, the financial institutions will get 0.4 per cent of any outstanding balances in the program per year. If for example, the $15.3 billion that has been paid was still outstanding at the end of the first year, banks would receive just over $60 million.

The program was part of a host of support efforts for small businesses, which has also included the wage subsidy program and an initiative for rent relief that was announced last week.

Anna Arneson, a spokesperson for the ministry of finance, said the fee is intended to cover the banks’ cost administering the program including keeping clients updated on their balances.

They are not going to pay it early because they are going into a slow economy and they’re going to need that cash flow

“The fee is intended to reflect the cost of service of the financial institutions providing the loan, for the duration of the loan’s lifetime, in a manner similar to how a financial institution would treat loans that it underwrote,” she said in an email. “It is not intended to include a profit margin for the financial institutions.”

She said the government is also doing an independent review of the program and if the costs to the bank are lower than initially estimated their fee can be reduced.

NDP MP Gord Johns said Canada’s banks could have taken on this program without charging the government, recognizing that it would help many of their customers to get money in their pockets.

“It would have been a generous offer if they said we are going to administer it, this is something we can do,” he said. “The big banks haven’t come to the table and they need to.”

Johns said most businesses will need the cash over the next few years and won’t rush to repay the loan allowing banks to gather these fees for several years.

“They are not going to pay it early because they are going into a slow economy and they’re going to need that cash flow.”

He said he has been disappointed banks have only made small reductions to interest rates and he has heard from many constituents who feel the banks could be doing a lot more to help.

“I am getting calls from small businesses that aren’t able to defer mortgages for more than a month, that aren’t able to access lines of credit.”

He said the government should have taken a tougher stance with banks to get more support to individual Canadians.

“The government had to have a more difficult and harder conversation with the big banks.”

The Conservatives have also criticized the program for excluding family-run businesses by requiring that people applying have a payroll, noting many family-run businesses pay family members with dividends.

Mathieu Labrèche, a spokesperson for the Canadian Bankers Association, said the government worked with banks to ensure the money could get out the door to businesses quickly. He said banks have worked very quickly and are only covering their costs with the program.

“Canada’s financial institutions will continue to support the program on a cost recovery basis throughout,” he said.

Labrèche said the government has asked for the banks’ help with a number of programs, including the wage subsidy and they have done so eagerly.

“Having banks deliver these programs costs far less and is more efficient than having the government do so on its own,” he said.

Labrèche also pointed to similar programs in the United States that are costing a lot more. The American Small Business Administration is backing larger loans to businesses there, but banks in the U.S. are receiving larger fees.

For loans of less than $350,000 U.S. banks can charge a fee of five per cent on the loan, that percentage does decline when the loans become larger, but even with loans of more than $2 million banks charge a one per cent fee.

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Source:- National Post

Edited by Megan Johnson

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:T)

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

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