The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that Ssense, a Montreal-based retailer that sells designer fashion, is on the verge of filing for creditor protection in Canada after a conflict with its lenders. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says a group of creditors led by Bank of Montreal forced the issue by filing a request under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act seeking repayment from Ssense. Other banks involved in Ssense include RBC, JPMorgan, National Bank and Scotiabank. Employees were informed in a message from chief executive officer Rami Atallah which said the company faces an "immediate liquidity crisis that no short-term solution could address." A Ssense spokesperson added in a statement: "While we sought a collaborative path forward, our primary lender has chosen instead to place the company under CCAA protection and commence a sale process without our consent. We will be filing our own CCAA application to safeguard the company, retain control of our assets and operations." In 2021, Ssense received a minority investment from Sequoia Capital that gave it an enterprise value of more than $5-billion. The on-line player is facing a hit to U.S. sales after the "de minimis" exemption ended.