Business Development Bank of Canada

Originally created in 1944 as the Industrial Development Bank and later known as the Federal Business Development Bank, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) became the successor entity in 1995. BDC's mandate is to provide financing, venture capital and consulting services across Canada with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. As an agent of the Crown, DBRS's ratings are based on the Government of Canada as debt issued directly by BDC represents a direct obligation of the Government of Canada payable out of the government's Consolidated Revenue Fund. However, since April 2008, BDC no longer issues debt in the capital markets and now borrows directly from the federal government.