The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, March 6, edition that the Canada Infrastructure Bank has struck a $100-million loan agreement with the First Nations Bank of Canada. The Globe's Wendy Stueck writes that the agreement follows several other recent indigenous financing developments, including the B.C. government announcing in its February budget a $1-billion indigenous loan guarantee program and Ottawa previously saying the next steps for a federal indigenous loan-guarantee program would come in this year's budget. Indigenous groups have been pushing for such programs to bridge funding gaps for indigenous communities, pointing to existing models in Ontario and Alberta that have paved the way for multi-million-dollar deals such as a $1.1-billion 2022 transaction in which a first nations and Metis consortium bought a minority interest in seven Enbridge pipelines. However, while those programs focus on big deals, the loan agreement between CIB and FNBC is designed to fund more modest projects, such as small housing development. CIB's Hillary Thatcher says: "We typically don't do projects under $5-million. So this really hits home to some of those smaller projects that communities need."