Equitable Bank

Equitable Bank is a Canadian bank which primarily provides residential and commercial real estate lending services, as well as personal banking through its direct banking brand EQ Bank. The bank was founded in 1970 as The Equitable Trust Company and became a Schedule I Bank offering savings products in 2013.[3] It is now Canada’s ninth largest independent bank, with more than $25 billion in assets under management.[2] As of June 2017, the bank had over $10 billion in deposits.[4] Equitable Bank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Equitable Bank
Formerly
The Equitable Trust Company
Public
Traded asTSX: EQB
IndustryBanking
Founded1970
Headquarters
Canada 
Key people
Andrew Moor (CEO)[1]
Total assets$25 billion[2] (2018)
Number of employees
600[2] (2018)
Websiteequitablebank.ca

Mortgage lender

Equitable Bank provides mortgages, commercial lending services and deposit services. It is headquartered in Toronto with offices in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver. Equitable Bank is one of nine Schedule I banks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange; it is listed through its parent company Equitable Group (TSX: EQB).

EQ Bank
EQ Bank
Product typeDirect bank
OwnerEquitable Bank
CountryCanada
IntroducedJanuary 14, 2016 (2016-01-14)
Websiteeqbank.ca

Equitable Bank launched a direct banking operation branded as EQ Bank on January 14, 2016.[5] As a completely online banking service, EQ Bank has no branch locations and also does not provide debit cards, credit cards, or cheques to its consumers.[6]

As of July 2018, the EQ Bank division alone had over $2 billion in deposits and 60,000 customers.[7]

Products and services

The primary product offered by EQ Bank is the Savings Plus Account, a high-interest and no-fee savings account. At launch the bank attracted customers with an interest rate of 3.0%.[8] The rate was lowered on April 18, just 96 days later, to 2.25%.[5] The rate was lowered again to 2.0% on August 25, 2016.[7] In May 2017 the rate was raised to 2.3%.[9] From January to March 2020, the rate peaked at 2.45% before being reduced to 2.0% in response to reductions of the Bank of Canada interest rates due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] In August 2020, the interest rate was reduced further to 1.7%, with reasoning continuing to be COVID-19's impact on the industry.

EQ Bank began offering guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) in May 2018,[11] and launched an international money transfer service in partnership with TransferWise in 2019.[12] All of EQ Bank's products require a Savings Plus Account.

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References
  1. Bouw, Brenda. "How Equitable Bank's CEO invests his own money". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  2. "Equitable launches 'digital' Canadian bank for PC, mobile". CTV News. The Canadian Press. January 14, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  3. "New bank status may boost shares of mortgage lender Equitable". Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  4. Posadzki, Alexandra. "Equitable Bank grows deposit base, leaves credit line untapped". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  5. Mayers, Adam (May 11, 2016). "EQ Bank's 3% rate gone in 96 days". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  6. Alexander, Doug (January 14, 2016). "Equitable Adds Online Bank to Lure Deposits From Canadian Rivals". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  7. Shecter, Barbara (August 18, 2016). "EQ Bank set to lower high-interest savings account rate again, though it's still top of the market: CEO". Financial Post. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  8. Carrick, Rob (January 21, 2016). "EQ Bank pitches attractive (but temporary) 3% return on savings". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  9. "Savings Plus Account Features & Rates | EQ Bank Canada". www.eqbank.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  10. Alini, Eric (12 March 2020). "Say goodbye to high interest rates on savings accounts as lenders cut rates". Global News. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. "Canadians' big money dreams not backed up by effective saving habits: EQ Bank poll". Cision.
  12. "EQ Bank partners with TransferWise on international money transfers". Cision.
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