Business term loan deferrals

How does the deferral work?

The answer to this question depends on which of the two deferral options was made available to you.

Option 1: Available to customers who deferred payment of both principal and interest

A deferral on a business term loan means that payment of both principal and interest are suspended for a defined period of time, and the amortization period on your loan is extended by the same number of months as your deferral period. During the deferral period, interest still accumulates at the applicable rate, as set out in your Credit Agreement, on the outstanding principal balance.

COVID-19 relief offer note: As part of ATB’s COVID-19 Relief Program, business customers who entered into their deferral period prior to June 8, 2020 will automatically enter into a new deferral period when their original three-month deferral of both principal and interest payments end. If you do not want to automatically enter into this new deferral period, please connect with us as soon as possible. This new deferral period will defer the principal portion of payments to September 30, 2020, making your payments interest-only from the end of your original three-month deferral period until September 30, 2020. The amortization period on your loan is further extended by the same number of months as your principal-only deferral period.

If you have life and/or disability insurance on your loan, those premiums will continue to be debited from your account to maintain your coverage.

Option 2: Available to customers who defer the principal portion of their payments, starting on June 8, 2020

With this option, the principal portion of payments are suspended for a defined period of time, but interest payments continue to be charged and are due and payable in accordance with the terms of your loan. The amortization period of your loan is extended by the same number of months as your deferral period.

You may defer the principal portion of your payments until September 30, 2020.

If you have life and/or disability insurance on your loan, those premiums will continue to be debited from your account to maintain your coverage.

How does repayment work?

When your loan payments of both principal and interest resume after the end of the deferral period, your payment amounts will remain the same until the last payment of your loan. The last payment of your loan will be larger than the others. This increase is a result of the deferred payments, as you will not have paid all the principal and interest owing by the end of the amortization period of your loan.

What should you consider?

Deferring payments may significantly increase your interest costs over the life of your loan, so it's important to evaluate your financial situation and priorities before exercising this option. Please connect with us about the possible impacts of deferring your loan payments.

Repayment strategies

If you’re concerned about not having sufficient funds available when your payments resume, please connect with us prior to the end of the deferral period to explore more manageable options. Likewise, if you’d like to repay deferred payments early, please connect with us.