Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing

Detailed information for January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2015

Statistics Canada is conducting this survey to collect and to report aggregate information on the financing of businesses in Canada. The survey aims to measure flows of capital to business by industry and product line, as well as to observe biannual changes in credit conditions. The information will allow users to study some aspects of the nature of business financing in Canada and to support policy development by other government departments.

Data release - November 10, 2015

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing is the result of a commitment made in 1999 by the Government of Canada to improve the information available about the financing businesses in Canada. Data are collected from the major suppliers of business financing including domestic banks and other banks, credit unions and caisse populaires, finance companies (including some Government Business Enterprises), portfolio managers, and insurance companies. Business clients are classified by three variables: authorization level, type of instrument used and industry grouping (including a subset for knowledge-based industries). New variables were added to this survey to collect data on new disbursements, by authorization level and industry, and accounts in arrears by 90 days or more.

The survey contributes baseline statistics to the Financing Data Initiative (FDI), a partnership with Industry Canada. Policy makers use the information to determine whether financing problems exist in order to assess, identify and improve policy measures. Suppliers of business financing may use the results to identify areas for improvement or opportunities for profitable business financing.

Subjects

• Business performance and ownership

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population includes all enterprises that meet the following criterion:

The enterprise, or one of its establishments, has a two-digit NAICS code in 52 and the enterprise is incorporated and for-profit. Unincorporated and non-profit enterprises are excluded.

The observed population is a subset of the target population. The following additional criterion was applied to the target population to create the observed population:

The enterprise, or one of its establishments, must be one of the 120 largest enterprises by outstanding debt and be included in one of the following 4-digit NAICS codes: 5221 (banks, credit unions, caisses populaires), 5222 (finance companies), 5239 (Portfolio Managers), 5241 (insurance companies).

• Additional documentation

Instrument design

The content and design of the survey was developed in consultation with Industry Canada and twelve respondent organizations (including the Canadian Bankers Association and the Credit Union Central of Canada).

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a cross-sectional design and a longitudinal follow-up.

Data are collected from 120 of the largest financial institutions in Canada with assets over $5 million. The 120 units represent over 90% of all lending to businesses in Canada.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2015-07-07 to 2015-09-25

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

Data are collected through an electronic questionnaire process for the majority of the units. Follow-ups are conducted via the telephone.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

The data are subjected to a detailed quality review process with checks to detect missing, invalid or inconsistent entries or to identify records that are potentially erroneous. This includes a comparative analysis to the preceding year when possible as well as with other sources of related data and information.

Imputation

Our imputation primarily makes use of historical information and current trends in principal characteristics of similar units. Donors with similar characteristics are also considered when no historical information is available.

Estimation

Estimates are derived from the simple tabulation of data.

Quality evaluation

The survey results are analyzed before publication. In general, the analysis includes a detailed review of the individual responses, a review of general economic conditions as well as historic trends and comparisons with other data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The confidentiality of the reported statistics to the survey is protected under the provisions of the Statistics Act. Accordingly, statistics are released in aggregate only, with no potential identification of individually reported information. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act override the provisions of the Access to Information Act to guarantee the confidentiality of reported data of individual respondents.

Due to the high level of response to the Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing data suppression was used exclusively for the protection of confidential information. Suppression of data points denoted by "x" is used to protect the identity of respondents from direct or residual disclosure.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

The most recent data are subject to revision. These data may be revised to include amended information or reports from respondents that are received after the end of a collection cycle.

Data accuracy

1. Response rates

The overall response rate for the first iteration (January to June) of reference year 2015 for the Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing was 90.8%

2. Data Suppression

Due to the high level of response to the Biannual Survey of Suppliers of Business Financing data suppression was used exclusively for the protection of confidential information. Suppression of data points denoted by "x" is used to protect the identity of respondents from direct or residual disclosure. Coefficients of variation were calculated to show the overall data quality of the total cell of each variable.

3. Data Quality

In general, data quality is higher for dollar value cells than number accounts. The later may be affected by the assignment of accounts by respondents.

Total Debt Outstanding:

At the aggregate level the largest number of imputations for a value of credit outstanding and number of accounts for total debt outstanding cells was 9.2%.

Disbursements:

At the aggregate level the largest number of imputations for a value of disbursements and number of disbursements cells was 20.8%.