News

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2014 /CNW/ - Equitable Group Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C) ("Equitable" or the "Company") today reported its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, another period of record performance for its wholly owned subsidiary, Equitable Bank (the "Bank").

THIRD QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

• Net income was a record $27.8 million, up 20% from $23.2 million in 2013
• Diluted earnings per share were $1.71, up 19% from $1.44 in 2013
• Return on Equity ("ROE") was 17.8%, compared to 17.5 % in 2013
• Book value per common share was $39.61, up 17 % from $33.77 at September 30, 2013

"The third quarter was one for the record books, as Equitable delivered its highest ever quarterly earnings and at $1.3 billion, the highest quarterly mortgage originations in our history," said Andrew Moor, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "This outstanding performance is a clear demonstration of the Bank's strong position in the Canadian marketplace, solid fundamentals including a disciplined capital allocation process that produces consistently outstanding returns on equity for our shareholders, and the strategic advantage of aligning with mortgage brokers and business partners who share our commitment to customer service excellence.  With a number of growth initiatives underway, we are excited by the Bank's potential."

DIVIDEND DECLARATIONS

The Board of Directors today increased Equitable's common share dividend by $0.01 or 6% with a dividend declaration in the amount of $0.18 per common share, payable January 2, 2015, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2014.  The dividend declared is 13% higher than the dividend declared a year ago.

The Board also declared a quarterly dividend in the amount of $0.6307 per preferred share Series 3, payable December 31, 2014, to preferred shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2014. This dividend covers the period from August 8 to December 31, 2014, a period of almost two quarters.  In the future, quarterly dividends payable on these shares are scheduled to be $0.3969.

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

• Single Family Lending Services originations were a record $646 million, up 39% from $464 million a year ago.  On this strong origination performance and the Bank's mortgage renewal success, Single Family mortgage principal at September 30, 2014 was a record $4.6 billion, up 29% from $3.5 billion a year ago.
• Commercial Lending Services mortgage principal was $2.3 billion compared to $2.4 billion a year ago.  Quarterly origination volumes were $194 million compared to $265 million in 2013.
• Securitization Financing Mortgages under Management was $5.9 billion, up 2% or $101 million from 2013.
• Deposit principal outstanding increased 11% year over year or $663 million to $6.9 billion at September 30, 2014 as the Bank continued to successfully broaden its long-standing reputation for providing competitive rates of return across a variety of safe and secure investment products. Balances of the recently introduced Equitable Bank High Interest Savings Account increased 65% in the quarter to $262 million.

The Bank's very strong credit metrics at quarter end were indicative of Equitable's high quality mortgage portfolio and disciplined underwriting and credit processes used to amass it. The impairment provision was $0.3 million in Q3 and net impaired mortgage assets were 0.32% of total mortgage assets at quarter end. The allowance for credit losses represented 81% of gross impaired mortgage assets and Equitable's residential mortgage portfolio had a loan-to-value ("LTV") ratio of 68% at the end of September 2014.

CAPITAL

Equitable Bank's capital ratios continue to exceed minimum regulatory standards and most industry benchmarks.  At September 30, 2014:

• Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 13.3%, well ahead of the Basel III minimum of 7.0%, most competitive benchmarks and last year's ratio of 12.1%.
• Total capital ratio was 17.5%, exceeding the regulatory requirement of 10.5% on an all-in basis and up from 15.9% a year ago.

The total capital ratio was strengthened during the quarter as a result of the successful $75 million issuance of Series 3 preferred shares. These funds were used for general corporate purposes and, on September 30, 2014, to redeem the Company' $50 million Series 1 preferred shares.

STRATEGIC UPDATE: PRIME SINGLE FAMILY BUSINESS LAUNCHED

Equitable continued to expand and diversify its presence as one of Canada's leading independent banks during the third quarter with the successful launch of its prime single family residential mortgage business. Marketed under the name EQB Evolution Suite™, Equitable Bank's prime mortgage products provide flexible financial solutions to address the needs of a wide range of consumers and their mortgage broker advisors.

"By offering prime mortgages side-by-side with our alternative products, Equitable substantially increases its value proposition for our mortgage broker partners, becoming for the first time in our 40 plus year history, a one-stop solutions provider capable of serving the needs of borrowers across the broader lending spectrum," said Mr. Moor. "In just the first month of operating our prime business in Toronto, we have built a solid pipeline and are optimistic about the business' potential. In coming quarters, we will systematically introduce our prime products to new communities as  means of growing that pipeline and, over time, use our unique position as a branchless bank that originates mortgages exclusively through the broker channel to bring more prime borrowers to that channel as a means of achieving mutually beneficial advantages for consumers, mortgage brokers and Equitable."

Equitable's plan is to build the capabilities necessary to originate between $1 billion and $2 billion of prime mortgages annually within the next three to five years. Over the near term, it is supplementing its own production with mortgages originated through business partners in order to use the Bank's capabilities as an issuer of mortgage backed securities. In addition to better serving the Canadian marketplace, Equitable's prime business will provide important risk management benefits and create value for the Company's shareholders.

The launch of Equitable's prime business is just one of several recent growth initiatives on the horizon.  On the deposit side, Equitable Bank High Interest Savings Account balances surpassed the $315 million mark (at November 12, 2014) in the year since this product launched on the FundSERV platform under the Code EQB100 with an interest rate of 1.50%. Looking ahead, the Bank also intends to develop a digital banking platform to offer deposits directly to consumers, which would complement its deposit agent business.

BUSINESS OUTLOOK

Equitable expects that its growth and performance strategies will deliver high returns on shareholders' equity for the remainder of 2014 and through 2015.

"Equitable is well on track to finish 2014 with record results including the consistently high Return on Equity," said Mr. Moor. "As we look to build on this track record in 2015, we believe an increase in targeted investments will allow us to create an even more valuable consumer franchise. These investments will allow us to build brand awareness, and develop and launch products that will further differentiate Equitable as a financial services provider, including our digital banking platform. The end game is to increase market penetration across both our deposit and lending businesses so that we can take the Bank to a whole new level of performance for our customers, partners and shareholders."

With a confident outlook and substantial opportunities to capture additional market share, the Bank plans to invest approximately $3 million to $5 million per year to further build its market presence and consumer brand, starting in the second half of 2015.  From a profitability perspective, income from the Bank's prime single family business is expected to offset the cost of planned investments.

"That said, because of these investments we expect expense growth to outpace revenue growth in 2015, as this spending will occur ahead of the majority of the associated financial benefits," said Tim Wilson, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We intend to manage our other expenses so that they grow in line with our overall business. This should allow Equitable to remain one of Canada's most cost-effective and productive Banks."

The complete business outlook can be found in Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014, which is available on SEDAR and on the Company's website.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

The Company will hold its third quarter conference call and webcast with accompanying slides at 10:00 a.m. ET Friday, November 14, 2014.  To access the call live, please dial 416-849-1847 five minutes prior. To access a listen-only version of the webcast, please log on to www.equitablebank.ca under Investor Relations.

A replay of the call will be available until November 21, 2014 and it can be accessed by dialing 647-436-0148 and entering passcode 1979339 followed by the number sign.  Alternatively, the call will be archived on the Company's website for three months.

ABOUT EQUITABLE GROUP INC.

Equitable Group Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C) is a growing Canadian financial services business that operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Equitable Bank (the "Bank").  Equitable Bank is a Schedule I Bank regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada ("OSFI") with total assets under management of approximately $13.4 billion and almost 400 employees.  We serve retail and commercial customers across Canada with a range of savings solutions and mortgage lending products.  Measured by assets, Equitable Bank is the ninth largest independent Schedule I Bank in Canada.  For more information, visit the Company's website at www.equitablebank.ca and click on Investor Relations.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made by the Company in the sections of this news release including those entitled "Third Quarter Highlights", "Operating Highlights", Strategic Update", "Business Outlook", 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 the Company's objectives, strategies and initiatives, financial result expectations and other statements made herein, whether with respect to the Company'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 and the Canadian economy.  Although the Company believes 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 does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NON-GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES ("GAAP") FINANCIAL MEASURES

This news release references certain non-GAAP measures such as Return on Shareholders' Equity ("ROE"), Net Interest Margin ("NIM"), capital ratios, book value per share, impairment provision (recovery), and Mortgages Under Management that management believes provide useful information to investors regarding the Company's financial condition and results of operations.  The "Non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") Financial Measures" section of the Company's third quarter 2014 Management's Discussion and Analysis provides a detailed description of each non-GAAP measure and should be read in conjunction with this report.  The Management's Discussion and Analysis also provides a reconciliation between all non-GAAP measures and the most directly comparable GAAP measure, where applicable.  Readers are cautioned that non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning, and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

SOURCE Equitable Group Inc.

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2014/11/13/20141113_C9659_DOC_EN_43200.pdf