Brokers have gained another "national lender."
In announcing this multi-province launch, President and CEO Andrew Moor said: "The expansion of the Bank's operations to Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island from our Maritime home base of Halifax makes Equitable a true coast-to-coast alternative single family lender, now serving borrowers and their mortgage broker advisors in all Canadian provinces. This is an outstanding accomplishment that reflects a strategy we adopted five years ago to establish our single family lending services brand in the east and the west. We can't think of a better way to drive the last spike than to open in these Maritime markets. With our footprint established, we look forward to building our business in partnership with an Atlantic Canada mortgage broker community that shares our dedication to customer service."
Each of the Maritime communities that the Bank now serves, including St. John's, Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton and Charlottetown, derives economic strength – and property value sustainability – from public and private sector sources of employment. Each has an attractive mix of single family property types and is home to a vibrant mortgage broker community. For example, Foreign Direct Investment magazine recently named Fredericton first among North America's top 10 micro cities for economic potential and quality of life. St. John's enjoys one of the highest levels of GDP per capita of any city in Canada and is eastern Canada's oil and gas capital. Moncton is home to several prominent corporations in insurance and information technology and is a hub for surrounding communities with a total population of 1.6 million. Saint John attracts well over a million visitors a year as a major tourist destination.
"Our mortgage broker partners in the Maritimes encouraged us to take this initiative because they believe, as do we, that borrowers deserve healthy competitive choice," said Kim Kukulowicz, Vice President of Residential Sales and Partner Relations. "By bringing new options to the market, we look forward to helping borrowers realize their personal goals, whether it's buying a home or vacation property or ownership for investment purposes."
Residential single family lending is the Bank's fastest-growing lending operation. It funds first mortgages for owner-occupied and investment properties with up to four units, including detached or semi-detached houses, townhouses and condominiums.
"We're very proud to launch in centres that are widely recognized as attractive places to live, work and invest," said Brian Leland, Vice President of Residential Credit. "Our goal now is to achieve and sustain the level of customer and mortgage broker responsiveness that Equitable has become known for in other Canadian communities. Doing so will make us, over time, Atlantic Canada's mortgage lender of choice."
