B2B Trust, a subsidiary of Laurentian Bank, today announced the signing of agreements with Meritas Financial Inc., based in Cambridge, Ont., for the distribution of an investment loan and an RRSP loan program.

Under the terms of these agreements, B2B Trust will provide its investment loan and RRSP loan programs to Meritas through licensed financial advisors.

B2B Trust serves the majority of Canadian mutual fund companies who do not have an in-house lending capability and choose to offer a third-party investment loan program to their advisor communities.

“We provide our clients, Canadian mutual fund firms such as Meritas Mutual Funds, with a comprehensive loan product suite which offers maximum flexibility and demonstrates B2B Trust’s client-focused approach to delivering superior products to the financial advisory community,” said François Desjardins, president and CEO of B2B Trust, in a news release. “Our redesigned investment loan program and straightforward RRSP loan program are tailored to advisors with clients looking to increase their market exposure by borrowing to invest.

“We have had a growing demand for loan products in the last year and we are pleased to have established an alliance with B2B Trust to provide these to the advisor community across Canada,” said Gary Hawton, CEO of Meritas. “We think these products will help us build on the 54% growth in assets that we experienced in 2006.”

For Meritas, a provider of socially responsible investments, the new loan programs are an additional tool, available exclusively through financial advisors, that can help advisors deliver their financial plan recommendations to those of their clients with a higher risk tolerance, a good credit rating and a desire to increase their participation in the mutual fund and RRSP investment arenas.

B2B Trust’s investment loan program offers three loan products, available up to a maximum of $250,000 and with a variety of collateral options:

  1. 100% Investment Loan –B2B Trust will finance 100% of the investment for the purchase of eligible non-registered mutual funds.
  2. 2 For 1 Investment Loan — For every dollar pledged by the borrower, B2B Trust will lend up to two dollars for the purchase of eligible non- registered mutual funds.
  3. 1 For 1 Investment Loan: B2B Trust will match every dollar pledged by the mutual fund firm’s client for the purchase of eligible non- registered mutual funds.



The investment loan program and RRSP loan program for Meritas are now available.