Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, and thank you for inviting me back. I will keep my comments short and to the point.
When I was here in March to discuss business access to credit, you may recall that I reported that in response to the credit crisis, we increased our traditional lending and that we would soon be sending our annual report to the Minister of Industry for him to table in the House. While I cannot yet speak to the specific numbers in the report, it will show that we have increased our lending portfolio by more than $1 billion in the last fiscal year, an increase of some 11% compared to last year.
You may also recall that I mentioned two new initiatives. The first was the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP). The second was the Canadian Secured Credit Facility (CSCF). These two initiatives are up and running and available to the market. I will first describe the BCAP and then the CSCF.
BCAP is a program in which BDC, EDC, and private sector financial institutions are participating to help ensure that at least $5 billion in loans and credit support is made available to creditworthy businesses whose access to financing would otherwise be restricted. It's best understood as a program of greatly enhanced referrals between BDC, EDC, and banks to collaboratively finance creditworthy clients. For us it also means offering new financing possibilities to Canadian businesses.
How we do it for each business depends on the need. For larger corporations we're now participating in syndicates to replace departing lenders. For mid-market sized loans, financial institutions are sharing an increasing number of commercial mortgage deals on a pari passu basis with BDC. When mortgages are small, where it's not efficient or cost-effective to have the paperwork, we purchase a 50% interest in the mortgage portfolios. The original lender maintains and manages the relationship with the client and collects and remits payment to BDC. This is much simpler for the client. There's one registration, one agreement, one negotiation, one payment, and it provides much-needed capital for commercial development projects.
You should also know that we've completed the work to create a new operating line of credit guarantee. Its aim is to support Canadian businesses who are constrained by reduced access to working capital credit and to share the risk with other banks. In line with BCAP's objectives, it provides incremental financing to creditworthy companies by preventing reductions in operating lines of credit or enabling fast-growing businesses to gain access to a larger operating line of credit.
The new BCAP collaboration is working well, entrepreneurs are getting more opportunity to make their case, potential deals are being referred, and businesses are benefiting. Through BCAP specifically, we at BDC have provided more than $600 million in new financing to Canadian businesses since February.
In terms of the Canadian secured credit facility, also in the budget, the government asked us to establish and manage this facility, which has an allocation of up to $12 billion. Its primary objective is to stimulate economic activity in Canada by supporting sales and leasing of vehicles and equipment through BDC purchasing term asset-backed securities. A second and very important objective is to promote renewed investor confidence in the Canadian term asset-backed securities market, as well as in vehicle and equipment financing more broadly.
The CSCF is now up and running. We've already allocated close to $11 billion to two distinct groups. First was the large enterprise tranche with $10 billion. Following a price discovery process in early May, we sent commitment letters on May 15 to fifteen eligible originators who have AAA securitization experience. The minimum transaction size for these transactions was $300 million.
Second was the small enterprise tranche. This was for $1 billion. We recently sent the allocation letters and will be sending formal commitment letters today, June 11. In the second tranche, originators need not have securitization experience. The minimum transaction size is $100 million and the maximum is $300 million.
The second tranche completes our first allocation. We anticipate a second round of allocation in August. In that round we expect to allocate the remaining amount available, which will be at least $1 billion. With these allocations now in place, we expect the first cheques will reach the market in a few weeks.
In sum then, BDC is proactively helping business gain access to credit. We're increasing our regular lending and still investing in our technology companies and venture capital funds. We're also doing the two things that the government asked us to do: participate actively in BCAP and establish and manage the CSCF. Through BCAP we've provided Canadian businesses with $600 million in new financing in slightly more than four months. Through the CSCF we are allocating $12 billion to restore liquidity and confidence in the term asset-backed securities market. Our people understand the importance of what's happening in the economy and, I believe, have risen to the challenge.
Thank you for your time, and I will be happy to respond to your questions.
Thanks for your time. I'll be happy to respond to your questions.