Who are we?

We are Canada’s export credit agency. Our job is to support and develop Canada’s export trade by helping Canadian companies respond to international business opportunities. We are a self-financing, Crown corporation that operates at arm's length from the Government.

What do we do?

We provide insurance and financial services, bonding products and small business solutions to Canadian exporters and investors and their international buyers. We also support Canadian direct investment abroad and investment into Canada. Much of our business is done in partnership with other financial institutions and through collaboration with the government of Canada.

CSR Report We’re balancing opportunities and impacts. Find out how in our 2010 CSR Annual Report. Learn more

Annual Report Looking for detailed information on our performance measures and highlights? View our 2011 Annual Report. Learn More

ExportWise.ca Subscribe to our online business magazine for tips on how to help your business thrive. Learn more

How we operate

Unlike most export credit agencies that rely on governmental annual appropriations, we are financially self-sufficient and operate much like a commercial institution. We collect interest on our loans and premiums on our insurance products. We also have a treasury department that sells bonds and raises money in global capital markets.

We are committed to the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Our rigorous due diligence requirements ensure that all projects and transactions we support are financially, environmentally and socially responsible. We believe that good business — adopting and embracing these principles while we facilitate trade for Canadian investors and exporters — is good for business.

Partnership preferred philosophy

When we work on a transaction, we prefer to do it in explicit partnership with the private sector. We let the private sector player set the terms and we add capacity and share the risk. This encourages the private sector to move into new areas, leaving us to move to new frontiers to create new trade for Canada.

We have also signed a new protocol with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), to ensure that Canadian companies looking to expand their business in global markets have access to the services and financial capacity that best suit their needs. The protocol aims to improve the coordination between our two Crown corporations by placing more emphasis on guiding new customers towards the core strengths of each organization.

Benefits to Canada