EQB Announces Renewal of Normal Course Issuer Bid

EQB Inc.announced that it has filed, and the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) has approved, notice of EQB’s intention to renew its normal course issuer bid (the “NCIB”) for Common Shares (the “Common Shares”) and its Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series 3 (the “Preferred Shares” together with the Common Shares, the “Shares”).

The Company intends to purchase a maximum of 1,150,000 Common Shares and 288,680 of its Preferred Shares under the terms of the NCIB, representing, respectively, approximately 3.8% and 10% of the public float of such shares.

As at December 9, 2022, there were 37,515,884 Common Shares issued and outstanding and the public float was 30,257,982 Common Shares and 2,911,800 Preferred Shares were issued and outstanding and the public float was 2,886,800 Preferred Shares, calculated in accordance with the rules of the TSX.  

Purchases under the renewed NCIB may commence on December 23, 2022 and continue until December 22, 2023, when the NCIB expires, or on such earlier date as the NCIB is complete. The actual number of Shares purchased under the NCIB and the timing of any such purchases will be at the Company’s discretion. Subject to the TSX’s block purchase exception, on any trading day purchases under the NCIB will not exceed 17,117 Common Shares and 1,000 Preferred Shares, based on an average daily trading volume of the Common Shares and Preferred Shares from June 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022 of 68,471 and 1,261 shares respectively (rounding down and determined in accordance with TSX polices).  

The purchases made by EQB will be implemented through the facilities of the TSX, and through alternative Canadian trading systems, in accordance with TSX rules. Any Shares purchased by the Company will be cancelled.  

The Company’s board of directors has authorized the NCIB because it believes that, from time to time, the market price of Shares may be such that their purchase may be an attractive and appropriate use of corporate funds. The NCIB will provide the Company with additional flexibility to manage capital and generate value for shareholders. Decisions regarding the timing of future purchases of Shares will be based on market conditions, share price and other factors. Although EQB has a present intention to acquire its Shares pursuant to the NCIB, EQB will not be obligated to make any purchases and purchases may be suspended at any time.  

In connection with the NCIB, the Company has entered into a share purchase plan (the “Plan”) to facilitate the purchase of Preferred Shares pursuant to the bid and under which its broker may purchase Shares according to a prearranged set of criteria. If implemented, the Plan will enable the purchase of Shares at any time, including when the Company would not ordinarily be active in the market because of internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise.  

Under its existing NCIB, the Company repurchased 7,600 Preferred Shares through the facilities of the TSX and alternative Canadian trading systems at a weighted-average price of approximately $24.92 per Preferred Share for total cash consideration of $189,436.99 (including commission). No Common Shares were repurchased under the previous NCIB. 

About EQB Inc.

EQB Inc. trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and serves more than 370,000 people across Canada through its wholly owned subsidiary Equitable Bank, Canada’s Challenger Bank™. Equitable Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary Concentra Bank supports credit unions across Canada that serve more than 5 million members. Equitable Bank has over $100 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people’s lives. Founded over 50 years ago, Canada’s Challenger Bank™ provides diversified personal and commercial banking and through its EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has been named the top Schedule I Bank in Canada on the Forbes World’s Best Banks 2022 and 2021 lists. Please visit equitablebank.ca for details.

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