PayNet Shows Canadian Private Businesses Shift into Expansion

After tough six months, turnaround appearing

TORONTO--()--PayNet, the leading provider of small business credit data and analysis, reports that the PayNet Canadian Small Business Lending Index (CSBLI) increased 8% from 110.6 in February 2018 to 118.9 in March 2018. Compared with the same month one year ago, the CSBLI is up 1%.

“This release looks like private companies are shifting into investment mode,” said PayNet President William Phelan. “The second half of 2017 looks more like a pause. It wasn’t clear last year if private companies would continue contraction mode. This release points to a turnaround.”

The Index is up year-over-year for the first time after being down year-over-year for the prior eight months. Compared with March 2017, sectors experiencing growth included Construction (13%), Manufacturing (14%), Transportation (19%), Retail (7%) and Professional Services (5%). Wholesale and Agriculture each showed a 6% decrease during the same period. All seven provinces were up year-over-year, with Manitoba (12%), Alberta (11%) and Quebec (9%) showing the largest increases.

According to the PayNet Canadian Small Business Delinquency Index (CSBDI), loans 30 days past due or more jumped 8 basis points in March (0.96%) compared with February (0.88%), reflecting increasing credit risks. Compared with March 2017, delinquency decreased 14 basis points from 1.10%, marking the twelfth consecutive year-over-year decrease after 25 months of year-over-year increases. Month-over-month, all industries showed an increase in delinquency, with Professional Services (+19 bps), Retail (+16 bps), Wholesale (+18 bps) and Transportation (+9 bps) showing the most significant upticks. All provinces showed an increase in delinquency compared with the previous month, with Atlantic Canada (+22 bps), Manitoba (+13 bps) and Saskatchewan (+6 bps) seeing the largest increases.

“This release shows the lull in late 2017 was temporary,” added Phelan. “Canadian private business is back to investing to build more products and deliver more services. The broad-based growth by industry and province will likely add to GDP over the next quarter.”

About PayNet, Inc. Canada

PayNet, Inc. Canada is the premier provider of risk management tools and market insight to the commercial credit industry, collecting real-time loan information from leading Canadian lenders and turning it into actionable intelligence. The company's proprietary database -- updated weekly -- is a growing collection of commercial loans and leases, worth over $92 billion. Using state-of-the-art analytics, PayNet converts raw data into real-time market intelligence and predictive information that subscribing lenders use to manage risk, lower operating costs, originate more loans and improve their business strategy. For more information visit paynet.ca and sbinsights.ca.

Contacts

For PayNet, Inc. Canada
Michelle Meek, 773-220-3120
mmeek@clearedgemarketing.com

Release Summary

The PayNet Canadian Small Business Lending Index (CSBLI) increased 8% from 110.6 in February 2018 to 118.9 in March 2018, marking a turnaround.

Contacts

For PayNet, Inc. Canada
Michelle Meek, 773-220-3120
mmeek@clearedgemarketing.com