The institution reached its highest Canadian lending market share so far
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During the first quarter of the year, Equitable Bank achieved its highest market share so far in the Canadian lending space, fuelled by significant growth in its alternative mortgage business.
The bank’s Q1 market share stood at 6.3%, according to a CMT analysis of recent Bank of Canada data. This came off from a year of exceptional growth, as the institution’s share went up by 190 basis points in the 12 months ending March 2019.
During the quarter, “alternative and prime single-family mortgages grew 15% and 48%, respectively,” CEO Andrew Moor told CMT.
A similar phenomenon was also observed in First National Financial Corporation’s Q1 performance. Alternative mortgage borrowing in Ontario propelled the company’s numbers during the quarter.
First National’s Q1 originations stood at $3.0 billion, down from the $3.4 billion during the same time a year ago. Among the most significant declines were in new single-family originations, which fell from $2.2 billion to $1.8 billion this year.
On the other hand, total mortgage renewals were at $1.3 billion by Q1 2019, compared to last year’s $1.2 billion. Single-family renewals were at $916 million, from $1.1 billion the year prior.
“Looking at our business regionally, single-family volumes in Eastern Canada were almost on par with last year, but this was due to the contribution made by our ‘Excalibur’ program, which addresses the Ontario alternative mortgage market,” executive vice president Moray Tawse said.
