With booming demand in Indigenous communities for new business loans, the First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) is making major strides towards its goal of raising $50 million in new equity financing before the end of this year. On August 22, FNBC announced a $10 million equity investment from the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. The Nation and its economic development arm, Tano T’enneh Enterprises, acquired a 4.32% ownership interest in the bank. Earlier in the month, five other Indigenous groups across Canada invested an additional $9 million. FNBC president and CEO Bill Lomax celebrated the news in Prince George, BC, not far from his home community in the Gitxsan Nation. Lomax said returning to the region for this milestone represented professional momentum and a commitment to strengthening Indigenous economies. “This investment is a powerful statement of confidence in the future of FNBC,” said Lomax. “The money that we get, we will put to work very easily over the next 18 to 24 months. Then we might have to get out there again just because the demand is so high.” With so many First Nations looking to start businesses, acquire existing operations and build infrastructure, FNBC is facing a backlog of loan applications. Through partnerships with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), raising $50 million Could facilitate loans totalling $500 million or more to Indigenous communities across Canada. Projects long delayed by funding challenges have been given new life by the CIB-partnered Indigenous Land Development Loan Program, which began financing essential infrastructure projects earlier this year. Doig River First Nation in northern BC said the program has been “game-changing” in making its new eight-acre economic hub, called Naache Commons, a reality. As Indigenous communities grapple with a $300 billion infrastructure gap, Lomax said CIB’s collaboration helps the bank stretch financing to more Indigenous projects than traditional grants or government capital funding could accomplish. “We’re just trying to keep up with the pace of Indigenous business,” said Jed Johns, FNBC chief marketing officer. “If there’s a Nation looking to get an infrastructure piece, they should be coming to us because we’re able to expand our loan capacity now in a way that we haven’t been able to in the last few years.” The financial sophistication of First Nations has evolved dramatically in recent years. A $100 million business acquisition program announced with the BDC in June responds to a wave of business owners retiring just as Indigenous entrepreneurs are expected to grow by 23% in the coming decade. “What’s great about that is when they buy a business, it becomes an Indigenous-owned business which gives access to other procurement opportunities and another edge in operating,” Johns told the Nation. “It brings in another revenue stream for the Nation without having to put up their own capital or taking money from their trust.” With Canada aiming to boost major projects in response to US tariffs, First Nations could play a role in enabling many of these activities to proceed. One of Mark Carney’s first acts as Prime Minister was to double a pot for federal loan guarantees to Indigenous groups to $10 billion. Johns suggested that Carney is supportive of economic reconciliation and thinks we’ll see more Nations develop projects. It aligns with Lomax’s vision for accelerating growth opportunities since taking the helm of FNBC in 2023. While FNBC’s commercial banking division has been growing at about 10% in new loans issued over the past several years, this year it’s expected to grow between 20% and 25%. With that pace of growth, other initiatives such as guiding clients’ retirement savings plans have been put on the backburner. Founded in 1996 as a strategic alliance between First Nations in Saskatchewan and TD Bank, which originally owned 80%, the latter divested by 2012 as other First Nations became shareholders. Today, FNBC is 88% Indigenous owned. The James Bay Cree were an early supporter and eventually became one of its largest shareholders. Former president Keith Martell told the Nation in 2019 that the Cree had discussed founding their own bank at that time but decided to partner with FNBC. Martell said Chisasibi members were unhappy with their existing bank, which had literature only in French and lacked cultural understanding. In 1998, FNBC’s second branch after Saskatoon opened in Chisasibi. Nemaska and Whapmagoostui have since opened smaller FNBC community banking centres. “In Indigenous communities, face-to-face banking with that personal touch still matters,” asserted Johns. “That’s where we have connection with community. This capital raise will support the construction and operation of the bank to open more branches.” Former Cree Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come served on the original board of directors, where CNG executive director Davey Bobbish currently sits. Bill Namagoose retired last year after 12 years as chairperson of the bank. He noted that 70% of its over 130 employees are Indigenous. “It was a nation-building concept back then and still is,” said Namagoose. “It’s a flagship in the financial industry. The other big banks service the North remotely – First Nations Bank creates jobs for Indigenous people within their community rather than in large non-Native centres.” Johns presented at the Cree Nation’s inaugural business summit last year and believes its road to relative financial sovereignty is a story that should be more widely known. With new Grand Chief Paul John Murdoch recently observing that bigger banks exacerbate the housing crisis through obstacles like counter-guarantees from the band, Johns suggested FNBC can help deliver solutions. “We’ve been involved in [housing] projects before,” said Johns. “Those that run between $5 to $50 million is a sweet spot for us. We’re able to provide below-market rates, anywhere down to almost 1%, and an infrastructure project becomes a lot more affordable.” Contending that the FNBC is less interested in the bottom line than working in the best interest of First Nations, Johns mentioned cases where they’ve earned less loan income because they recommended communities secure available grants and not borrow more than they needed to. “It’s important we reflect back on the communities we serve,” said Johns. “Other banks don’t have the same relationship focus that we have. That’s a key difference – we want the Nations to be successful no matter what.”
The road to financial sovereignty First Nations Bank expands financing for Indigenous projects
