FirstPreviousNextLast

Key Small Business Financing Statistics — December 2006

Financial Structure

What is the average financial structure of an SME?

As discussed above, SMEs used a wide range of formal and informal financial instruments in 2004. Figure 12 shows that informal sources of debt — provided as loans from individuals and trade credit from suppliers — are just as important as formal sources to SMEs' debt structure, accounting for approximately two thirds (66 percent) of the outstanding debt owed by Canadian SMEs in 2004. This was significantly more than the amount of debt owed to formal financial providers, including chartered banks, credit unions, caisses populaires, government sources and other lessors. With few exceptions, the financial structure of SMEs is fairly consistent across Canada.

Figure 12: Average Distribution of Debt Owed by SMEs in 2004, by Supplier

Source: SME Financing Data Initiative, Statistics Canada, Survey on Financing of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2004.

FirstPreviousNextLast