ACU - CEBA Repayment Deadline to Qualify for Partial Loan Forgiveness

ACU recognizes how quickly the deadline is approaching, and that not all our members may be in a position to repay their CEBA loans by the deadline. At the same time, we are committed to providing an alternative that will allow our qualified members to retain the federal forgiveness portion of their loan (up to 33%).

We are therefore pleased to provide the option of an ACU Refinancing Loan, which will allow qualified members to retain the federal partial forgiveness portion of their CEBA loan.

ACU Refinancing Loan for CEBA Borrowers

• Loan Amount: Your outstanding CEBA loan balance to a maximum of $40,000.00
• Term: 5 years, open and prepayable
• Variable Rate: ACU Prime + 3%
• Fee: $250.00 - for approved loans (can be added to loan)

Security Requirements

Business members

• Personal guarantees from each shareholder
• General security agreement
• Promissory note

Not-for-profit

• General security agreement
• Promissory note

To apply for an ACU refinancing loan

1. Contact your Business Financial Centre (BFC) or Community Finance Centre (CFC) account manager; or
2. Click this link to send an email to cebainquiry@acu.ca with "CEBA Refinancing Loan Application" in the subject line. 
3. In the body of the email, please provide:
   1. Name
   2. Amount requested
   3. Address
   4. Phone number/email
   5. Consent to complete application on behalf of the member

Your application will be underway and ACU will be in touch with you within five business days.

Other Options

If you would like to repay the outstanding balance of your loan, there are three options:

• Option 1: Use the “Transfer” feature of your online banking account to pay your balance down to the forgivable portion, and ACU will take care of processing the forgiveness. This is our preferred option, and the easiest; or
• Option 2: Contact your account manager; or
• Option 3: Email us at cebainquiry@acu.ca with "CEBA Loan Payoff" in the subject line. Please provide:
  1. Name
  2. Address
  3. Phone number/email
  4. Amount of payment (the outstanding balance of your loan)
  5. Effective date of payment
  6. Account number that you want the funds withdrawn from

  (If your business has been informed that it is not eligible for loan forgiveness and is required to repay its CEBA loan in full by December 31, 2023, your repayment deadline has not changed.)

Important Deadlines

Remember, if you have not taken action by the deadline, you will forfeit the partial forgiveness and your loan will revert to a Government of Canada loan with a fixed term and rate set by Export Development Canada (EDC), the Crown corporation responsible for administering CEBA.

January 18, 2024
The repayment or refinancing deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness of $10,000.00 for a $40,000.00 CEBA loan and $20,000.00 for a $60,000.00 CEBA loan.

January 19, 2024
Outstanding loans will convert to three-year term loans, subject to interest of five per cent per annum, with the term loan repayment date extended by an additional year from December 31, 2025, to December 31, 2026.

N.B. Borrowers receiving written notification that they were deemed ineligible by Export Development Canada will need to repay the full CEBA loan in its entirety (no forgiveness eligibility) before December 31, 2023.

Other questions you may have

Will I automatically qualify for an ACU Refinance loan?
Like any other loan ACU makes to a member, we will examine a prospective borrower’s risk and ability to pay, using analysis in place at Canadian financial institutional lenders.

No, not if your business has been informed that it is not eligible for loan forgiveness. If that is the case, you are required to repay the CEBA loan in full by December 31, 2023.

Will ACU continue to make CEBA loan payments to the government on my behalf?
Yes, whether you’re paying off your CEBA loan, refinancing with an ACU Refinancing Loan, or carrying on past the deadline without partial loan forgiveness, ACU will continue to act on your behalf.

What if the borrower has declared bankruptcy, is deceased or cannot repay the loan for some other reason?
For these and other inquiries, please provide details in an email to cebainquiry@acu.ca with "Other Inquiry" in the subject line. We will respond to you within five business days.