Equitable Group is hailing its strong financial performance with record highs for its retail and commercial assets.
The group’s results show strength for its Equitable Bank subsidiary and the positive impact of its acquisition of Bennington Financial.
"Equitable got off to a great start in Q1," said Andrew Moor, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our award-winning EQ Bank digital platform added 5,000 customers to reach over 76,000 Canadians with differentiated daily banking solutions. Our retail and commercial businesses grew assets to all-time highs and we completed the accretive acquisition of Bennington to establish our place as a leader in the equipment leasing market. These advancements generated record adjusted earnings and supported our second dividend increase of 2019.”
First quarter highlights
- Adjusted Diluted earnings per share were a record $2.72, up 16% from $2.34 in Q1 2018.
- Adjusted Return on Shareholders' Equity was 15.0% compared to 14.5% in Q1 2018.
- Retail loan principal outstanding at March 31, 2019 was $16.6 billion, up 25% from $13.4 billion a year ago on strong originations and lower attrition.
- Commercial loan principal outstanding at March 31, 2019 was $7.7 billion, up 24% from $6.2 billion a year ago as a result of organic growth and the addition of Bennington's $449 million equipment leasing portfolio.
- The Provision for Credit Losses ("PCL") was $9.6 million or 0.16% of average loan principal outstanding and included a one-time, IFRS 9-related charge of $5.7 million on the Bennington acquisition.
- Deposits at March 31, 2019 were $14.6 billion, up 23% from $11.9 billion a year ago and included a 28% year-over-year increase in EQ Bank deposits and a 20% increase in brokered deposits.
- The Bank's Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio at March 31, 2019 was 12.9% compared to 14.7% at March 31, 2018due to asset growth and the Bennington acquisition.
Positioned for the future
“Strategically, we will continue to expand EQ Bank's positioning by adding to our digital product portfolio and partnerships with industry leaders and fintechs, while becoming the first bank in Canada to migrate our core banking system to the cloud,” added Moor. “ As the Canadian government contemplates the creation of an open banking eco-system, the actions we're taking this year will secure Equitable's place at the epicentre of the banking industry of the future."
