Canadian small businesses saw a substantial boost in credit availability in the first quarter, according to the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), which reported a record increase in loans.

The first quarter of 2009 saw the largest quarterly increase in loan volumes in the history of the BDC, with the total amount of accepted loans increasing 37 percent from the same period last year – a jump from $738 million in 2008 to more than $1 billion in 2009.