Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I will make my presentation in English, but it would be my pleasure to answer your questions in French when the time comes.
As you know, BDC is the only Canadian bank dedicated to entrepreneurs. We are an independent Crown corporation that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion. The key thing to know about BDC is that we're complementary. What that means is that we provide financing on a commercial basis, but we do take more risk than the other banks in Canada. We also offer, as a lot of you know, venture capital and advisory services.
In the steel and aluminum sector, we have made available an envelope of $800 million, as Paul mentioned earlier, over two years, for higher risk but viable businesses. The envelope is essentially going to allow us to take greater risk, and that is simply because of the situation we are in today. We, as a Crown corporation, have a responsibility to step up. The financing is being provided on commercial terms and can include flexible repayment terms and also our advisory services.
In terms of the use of the financing, we're promoting greater innovation. We want to help the SMEs in the steel and aluminum sector, essentially, expand into new markets, increase their operational and environmental efficiency, and purchase new equipment and technology. We want to help them succeed in the face of the illegal action taken by the U.S. by helping them to expand and work in other markets.
The envelope, I am glad to say, was operational on day one, when the tariff measures were announced by the Americans. The field was fully briefed immediately. BDC is efficient because we have 123 business centres across the country and over 2,200 employees and 600 account managers. That's what makes a difference: We've got boots on the ground. That includes, of course, our strong presence in Ontario and Quebec.
In terms of outreach, we work closely with our colleagues at EDC. We contacted every existing client and every potential company that was affected and—drum roll, please—these are the results, which are what you guys will be interested in. As of September 30, meaning three months of operations of the line, we have signed loans totalling $131 million to 189 clients. The key is that we are taking more risk. Thirty-seven per cent of the dollars authorized are assigned to clients who are below the average risk rating for our book of senior loans. That means we are working with clients who are a greater risk, which is exactly what we wanted to do. One-third of 189 clients are new to BDC, and as every banker will tell you, a new client is, by definition, a riskier client because you don't know them that well. But we're there to get to know these people.
In terms of regional distribution, almost 80%—77%—of authorizations are in Quebec and Ontario, a heavier weighting for these two regions than the weighting in our overall portfolio. That of course is what we expected given the concentration of the industry in those two provinces.
Thank you very much.