Actually, it's a question of the asset class. If we're talking about technology and knowledge, the type of lending that a bank would undertake, based on some fixed assets and protection around those, is not where the gap is. Banks are involved with the SME sector to a great extent in terms of providing working capital and support for industries where there are assets.
The question in technology financing is that it's more venture financing, meaning the ability to evaluate the business plan in an area of completely new breakthrough products and innovation. The sophistication to make those decisions is not generally available in all the banks. It's something that's built up where you have a strong cluster of industry. You see it in Silicon Valley and in Boston, where they have a strong, deep specialization in technology and innovation and in the disruptive markets, and they can make those kinds of bets.
The question in Canada is how to build a corollary to that to support the bright people who come out of our institutions and want to start up businesses and see them grow in this country. A recommendation in the Jenkins panel that's under consideration, among other approaches, is whether support should be provided to incent more private sector money to come into this space to build expertise. Rather than have government make the choices, the idea would be to pull more private sector money in and build the critical mass in terms of a very specific area of financing.
It's not like bank lending. It's not asset-backed lending. It's lending against a future growth plan and looking for, ultimately, exit through an IPO into public markets.