TORONTO, April 9,
2024 /CNW/ - Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, announces its
latest milestone as it closes a $300
million fixed rate deposit note and returns to this funding
market for the first time since 2022. Investor demand led to an
issuance at the top end of the announced target size and included
the largest-ever number of investors, jointly reinforcing the
strength and stability of Equitable Bank's challenger bank value
proposition.
The 2.75-year $300 million deposit
note was offered at a 5.16% fixed rate and matures on January 11, 2027. Approximately one-third of the
47 investors were new to Equitable Bank's deposit note program, and
the total order book was 4.2 times oversubscribed. The transaction,
priced at 130bps over the Government of Canada curve, represents Equitable Bank's
tightest-ever new issue spread for this tenor and also resulted in
significant secondary curve re-pricing.
"The success of this milestone issuance reflects both the
efficacy of our funding diversification strategy as well as rapidly
growing investor appetite for Equitable Bank's unique challenger
story," said Chadwick Westlake,
chief financial officer. "Investors are clearly ready for the new
kind of bank that we have championed since day one. We are
invigorated by this outsized response to our offering as we
continue to plan for a bold future in which funding diversification
will remain a critical lever."
The issuance was completed with CIBC World Markets, Scotia
Capital and TD Securities acting as joint leads and bookrunners,
supported by BMO Nesbitt Burns, National Bank Financial and RBC
Dominion Securities as co-managers. This deposit note ranks equally
and rateably with all of Equitable Bank's present and future
unsecured and unsubordinated liabilities, and deposit notes are not
eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance.
About Equitable Bank
Equitable Bank has a clear
mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's
lives. As Canada's Challenger
Bank™ and seventh largest bank by assets, it leverages technology
to deliver exceptional personal and commercial banking experiences
and services to over 607,000 customers and more than six million
credit union members through its businesses. It is a wholly owned
subsidiary of EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C), a leading digital
financial services company with $119
billion in combined assets under management and
administration (as at January 31,
2024). Through its digital EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca), its
customers have named it the best bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list
since 2021.
To learn more, please visit eqb.investorroom.com or connect with
us on LinkedIn.
Investor contact:
Sandie Douville
VP, Investor Relations & ESG Strategy
investor_enquiry@eqb.com
Media contact:
Maggie Hall
Director, PR & Communications
maggie.hall@eqbank.ca
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements made in this
news release, in other filings with
Canadian securities regulators and in other
communications include forward-looking
statements within the meaning of
applicable securities laws ("forward-looking
statements"). These statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about EQB Inc.'s (the "Company") objectives,
strategies and initiatives, financial results,
expectations and risk management, statements
about or containing possible future issuances of deposit notes of
the Equitable Bank (the "Bank"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the
Company, statements made by EQB's CFO and any other statements made
herein, whether with respect to the Company's and Bank's businesses
or the Canadian economy. Generally, forward-looking statements can
be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "plans",
"expects" or "does
not expect", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled",
"planned", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends",
"anticipates" or "does not
anticipate", or "believes", or variations
of such words and phrases which
state that certain actions, events
or results "may", "could", "would",
"might" or "will be taken",
"occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, closing of transactions, performance or achievements of
the Company to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements, including but
not limited to risks related to capital markets and additional
funding requirements, fluctuating interest rates and
general economic conditions, legislative
and regulatory developments, the
nature of our customers and rates
of default, and competition as
well as those factors discussed
under the heading "Risk Management" in the
Management's Discussion and Analysis and in the Company's documents
filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All material assumptions used in
making forward-looking statements are based on management's
knowledge of current business conditions and expectations of
future business conditions and trends,
including their knowledge of the
current credit, interest rate and
liquidity conditions affecting the Company, the
Bank and the Canadian economy.
Although the Company and the Bank believe
the assumptions used to make such statements are reasonable at this
time and has attempted to identify in its continuous disclosure
documents important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to
be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. Certain material assumptions are
applied by the Company in making
forward-looking statements, including
without limitation, assumptions regarding
its continued ability to fund its
mortgage business at current levels,
a continuation of the current
level of economic uncertainty that
affects real estate market
conditions, continued acceptance of its
products in the marketplace, as well
as no material changes in its
operating cost structure and the
current tax regime. There can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. The Company and the
Bank do not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements that are
contained herein, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
The Deposit Note has not been and will not be registered under
the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
or any state securities laws and
may not be offered or delivered,
directly or indirectly, or sold in the United States. This press release does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy
securities in any jurisdiction.
SOURCE Equitable Bank