Finance committee  Yes. A supplement is that our president is speaking about how they assess the risk of individual loans. Of course the risk is mitigated through diversification, so that becomes a factor in the overall risk of the portfolio. This is a highly diversified portfolio by industry secto

Finance committee  I'd like to supplement here. One thing that I think ought to be part of the equation is that the leverage ratios of the chartered banks are higher than they are at the BDC. Sometimes those aren't apparent because much of the bank's leverage was realized through these off-balance

Finance committee  The board of directors approves the business plan before it's submitted, and I would say that it's a group of people who, if they thought that the bank had underperformed during a year, would not be reluctant to so state in the written summary.

Finance committee  It was.

Finance committee  I would just add, if I could, that all financial institutions are in the business of taking risk, and the challenge is in correctly assessing the risk and getting appropriately paid for it. As a relative newcomer to the Business Development Bank I've been quite impressed with t

Finance committee  If I might just supplement that as chair of the board, we feel that part of our responsibility is to ensure the Business Development Bank is conducting itself in accordance with its statutory mandate. So this is an area we question management on from time to time and are assured

Finance committee  It will be. It's still in incubation and hasn't been launched yet.

Finance committee  I'd be pleased to answer that. The $75 million that was earmarked is going to a fund that will be larger, because we will be seeking a third-party manager to invest their own capital and the capital of other interested parties. It's intended to be a late-stage fund, because one

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. We're pleased to be here. As you know, the BDC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Industry, but given your committee's interest and role in supporting entrepreneurship, we welcome this opportunity to be here today. T