Montreal: Bob Presner, a vp with Motion Picture Bond, will compete with his former colleagues in his new position as president of Film Finances Canada (1998).

The country’s newest film and tv guarantor, ffc will compete with two established players, Motion Picture Bond and The Completion Guarantors. Canada has an estimated $700 million in annual bondable production and Presner says ffc plans to inject healthy competition into the business by developing ‘a user-friendly, quick-turnaround service.’ The bond business has grown an estimated 10% to 15% in each of the past three years.

‘Hopefully the service providers who are the most user-friendly are the ones who will take the lion’s share of the business,’ Presner says.

‘What we have here is an influx of American and foreign clients [who] are taking advantage of the Canadian producers’ agency subsidies, tax credits, etc.,’ he says. ‘The foreign distributors are looking to make product where it’s least expensive, and are having a terrific time here.’

While no hard figures exist on the size of the film and tv bond market in Canada, Presner says, ‘There is at least $600 million or $700 million worth of production that will be bonded in this year.’

FFC (1998) is actually a ‘re-entry’ into the Canadian production bond market.

The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Montreal financing and packaging company Muse Entertainment Enterprises, headed by president Michael Prupas, and is affiliated internationally with Film Finances Inc. It is not in any way affiliated with or related to The Completion Guarantors, whose legal name was recently changed to FFC Completion Guarantors.

A vp with Motion Picture Bond for six years, Presner will be based in Toronto, and starts his new duties Aug. 10.

Presner says three decades of wide-ranging industry experience ‘gives me the advantage of knowing most of the players of the three generations in the production industry.’

Bonding rates in Canada vary from 4% to 6% of the cost of completing a production, less certain contingency costs and costs not considered part of the risk.

‘A bond is required when an entity, a financial or funding institution, needs the security of knowing no matter what happens on a production, they will not be looked to to provide over-budget funds,’ he says. ‘In effect, we are their insurance policy that a picture will be delivered on the day-and-date stipulated in the delivery schedule.’