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Cision Canada
01-08-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Equitable Bank successfully closes $300 million deposit note issuance
Issuance represents continued confidence in bank's funding strategy and long-term growth horizon TORONTO, Aug. 1, 2025 /CNW/ - Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, announces it has closed a $300 million floating rate deposit note issuance that represents the bank's tightest spread on record for deposit notes of a comparable term. The issuance, 2.0 times oversubscribed, reflects strong investor confidence in the bank's financial resilience, long-term growth prospects and unique Challenger mission. The two-year $300 million deposit note was issued with the coupon of CORRA plus 90 bps, with the maturity date of August 3, 2027. The transaction saw a final order book of $605.6 million and resulted in favourable repricing of the bank's secondary curve. Order book strength allowed the bank to upsize the offering from the launch size of $200 million. "Investor response to this issuance shows their deep confidence in our strong foundation, the calibre of our leadership, and the significant growth potential ahead of us," said David Wilkes, VP and Head of Finance at Equitable Bank. "This issuance provides a competitively priced source of funding that strengthens our ability to innovate and reshape banking for the better for all Canadians, while creating lasting, meaningful value for our investors." The issuance was completed with BMO Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets, National Bank Financial Markets and Scotiabank acting as joint leads and bookrunners, with RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities supporting as co-managers. The deposit notes rank equally and rateably with all of Equitable Bank's present and future unsecured and unsubordinated liabilities, and deposit notes are not eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance. Equitable Bank has a clear mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. As Canada's Challenger Bank™ and seventh largest bank by assets, it leverages technology to deliver exceptional personal and commercial banking experiences and services to over 742,000 customers and more than six million credit union members through its businesses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB), a leading digital financial services company with $134 billion in combined assets under management and administration (as at April 30, 2025). Through its digital EQ Bank platform ( its customers have named it one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021. To learn more, please visit or connect with us on LinkedIn. Investor contact: David Wilkes VP and Head of Finance [email protected] Media contact: Maggie Hall Director, PR & Communications [email protected] Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this news release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about EQB Inc.'s (the "Company") objectives, strategies and initiatives, financial results, expectations and risk management, statements about or containing possible future issuances of deposit notes of Equitable Bank (the "Bank"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, statements made by Equitable Bank's chief financial officer and any other statements made herein, whether with respect to the Company's and Bank'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 Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and in the Company's other documents filed on SEDAR+ at 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, the Bank and the Canadian economy. Although the Company and the Bank believe 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 and the Bank do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The deposit notes have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or delivered, directly or indirectly, or sold in the United States. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction.
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Two strangers carry a budding romance, and a cake, across New York
The musical, by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, makes the most of Tutty's irresistible charm as the naïve fish-out-of-water, in contrast to Pitts's jaded Robin. Tutty and Pitts have terrific chemistry, and Tutty absolutely delivers on Robin's description of Dougal as 'a Golden Retriever with less boundaries.' His opening number, 'New York,' perfectly captures Dougal's childlike excitement about his 48-hour adventure in a city he expects to be defined by the cherished movies he's seen (including 'Taxi Driver,' 'Midnight Cowboy,' and 'Big'). Advertisement Despite her eye rolls, it's clear Robin finds his comically dorky impersonations more endearing than she'd like to admit. Tutty has impressive vocal chops and dance moves, both of which feel wild and free — when he lets them explode — even though we know they were precisely rehearsed and choreographed. Advertisement Pitts's character is explored in 'What'll It Be,' a heartfelt ballad set in the Bump and Grind, the coffee shop where Robin works, as she wonders what will be next for her. Pitts, too, is a stunning singer and actor, giving the audience a haunting tour of her childhood neighborhood in 'This Is the Place' with all the love and regret that can entail. Tutty and Pitts in "Two Strangers." Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall Director and choreographer Tim Jackson moves his two performers effortlessly up, down, and around Soutra Gilmour's inventive baggage claim area set. Gilmour's piles of suitcases turn to provide different scenes, even as an outer turntable allows the actors to cover a lot of ground — a visit to the ice rink at Rockefeller Center, a sumptuous Plaza hotel room, an Uber ride and a coffee shop, and even a Chinese restaurant. Gilmour's collection of seemingly nondescript luggage also provides a delightfully surprising array of closets and cabinets as needed. Every inch of the space is employed in a climactic booze-fueled spree through New York, courtesy of Dougal's estranged father's credit card. Despite the limitations of creating dance routines that can be safely executed on a narrow, moving turntable, the couple's fearless energy, whipped up lighting, and spot-on timing (watch for the appearance of his tux jacket) are perfectly combined. Barne and Buchan's musical numbers are pleasantly, sometimes humorously derivative, with a special nod to Stephen Sondheim's patter songs in 'The Hangover Duet.' Jeffrey Campos leads the crisp five-piece band (keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and percussion). Advertisement The magical moments emerge from the clever and funny banter between Dougal and Robin, which reveals more about their characters than the exposition-heavy phone calls and letters that slow the action down. This is perfectly summed up by a subplot in which Dougal helps Robin find a match on a dating app. His sweet understanding of what she's looking for could have been more deeply explored. 'Two Strangers' finishes with a big, heartwarming number, 'If I Believed' — spoiler alert, there is snow — leaning more into cliché than necessary. Like a Hallmark movie, 'Two Strangers' boasts enough humor and whimsy to be sweet and superficially appealing, but at the end, all we're left with is the superficial. TWO STRANGERS (CARRY A CAKE ACROSS NEW YORK) Musical by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan. Directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson. Music direction by Jeffrey Campos. A Kiln Theatre production, produced by the American Repertory Theater. Loeb Drama Center, Brattle Street, Cambridge, through July 13. Tickets from $35. 617-547-8300,
Boston Globe
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A disjointed ‘Odyssey' can't find its way home
Advertisement 'The Odyssey' stars Wayne T. Carr as Odysseus, the king of Ithaca; Andrus Nichols as Penelope, his wife and queen; Carlo Albán as Telemachus, their callow son; and Hamill herself as Circe, a sorceress. Odysseus is heading home after the decade-long Trojan War — a journey that takes an additional 10 years, with sundry adventures along the way, including encounters with the Cyclops, the Sirens, and Circe, who turns Odysseus's band of not-so-merry men into pigs. Penelope, meanwhile, is waiting at home year after year, working on a tapestry of her husband, besieged by increasingly menacing suitors but growing in self-confidence. Hamill made her reputation with witty, contemporized stage adaptations of 19th-century novels, including Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility,' The stakes are infinitely higher in 'The Odyssey,' obviously, than maneuvering for a higher social position or fending off a bloodsucking vampire. Andrus Nichols and Wayne T. Carr in "The Odyssey." Nile Scott Studios and Maggie Hall Hamill is more than capable of tackling weighty matters, but the marriage of her voice with Homer's voice just doesn't work. The strain shows in multiple ways, including the four-letter words Hamill has sprinkled throughout her script — often a sign of desperation in a writer. As to why she has a character in ancient Greece singing a tune to the melody of 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,' your guess is as good — and probably better — than mine. Advertisement In a program note, Hamill notes that her mission as a writer is to bring to literary classics 'a specifically feminist lens.' That's an invaluable perspective; if the experiences of women are ignored or muted, the story is incomplete. And Hamill does indeed foreground Penelope, as well as Circe. If only the playwright had given them more interesting things to say. Too much of the dialogue is stilted or predictable. You can see some lines coming down Brattle Street. When Odysseus's second-in-command Polites (Jason O'Connell) boasts: 'I have been a tool in the hands of the divine,' Circe retorts: 'You've been a tool, all right.' When Penelope remarks: 'The cock is crowing,' her young lover Amphinomus (Keshav Moodliar) responds with a grin: 'Oh, it is.' In fairness, Hamill does land a few well-aimed blows, as when, speaking of Helen of Troy, Penelope says bitingly: 'Men will blame whatever gods they wish, in pursuit of their own wants.' 'The Odyssey' doesn't really achieve its other goal: to explore the lasting trauma of war and the possibilities of healing from psychological wounds. Nichols does not quite seem at home in the role of Penelope, as if she's still trying to get a fix on her character (Albán, as Telemachus, seems engaged in a similar struggle). Odds are Nichols will figure it out as the run proceeds at the Loeb Drama Center. She's a talented actress who gave a memorably visceral performance in 2015 at the Central Square Theater as Joan of Arc in George Bernard Shaw's 'Saint Joan.' Advertisement Carr fares better as Odysseus. He's persuasive as a genuine man of action and a man of intellect, tormented by an awareness of his character flaws but more inclined to rue them than to fix them. In sardonic prophecy, Odysseus predicts: 'We'll all become [expletive] poetry, you wait.' And theater, too. And soon, film: It was announced this week that Cambridge's own Matt Damon will play Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of Homer's poem, due for release next year. THE ODYSSEY Play by Kate Hamill. Based on the epic poem by Homer. Directed by Shana Cooper. Presented by American Repertory Theater at Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, through March 16. Tickets start at $35. 617-547-8300, Don Aucoin can be reached at
