Equitable Bank acquires Concentra Bank in historic transaction
To Our Valued Stakeholders:
We are writing to share some exciting news. We are delighted to announce that Equitable Bank has entered into an agreement to acquire Concentra Bank including Concentra Trust and Wyth Financial from SaskCentral.
This is an important and positive development for our customers, partners and shareholders. As such, we are pleased to explain the motivation for the transaction and the reasons this change will empower us to grow and serve you in new and bold ways.
Why Concentra/Wyth Financial
Concentra, through its trade name Wyth Financial, is a leading Canadian mid-market bank and the largest provider of wholesale banking and trust solutions to Canadian credit unions.
Its track record is impressive. Today, it serves 90% of credit unions in Canada outside Quebec and is the country’s 13th largest Schedule I bank, a position earned over decades through responsive customer service.
Like Equitable, Concentra/Wyth is a branchless, digital bank that enjoys deep and trusted relationships with customers and partners including other financial institutions, independent mortgage brokers, and fintech innovators.
Of great significance, Equitable shares Concentra’s corporate values including the cooperative principle of community building and Concentra’s commitment to ESG.
The key difference and the reason for the acquisition is that Equitable’s scale, capabilities, talent and technology will be enhanced by Concentra so that we can better pursue our Challenger Bank purpose of driving change in banking to enrich people’s lives.
Equitable Bank’s Commitments
Credit Unions: Equitable believes the credit union system is vital to the delivery of financial services to Canadians and, as Canada’s Challenger Bank, Equitable’s culture is aligned with the cooperative spirit of the credit union movement. Accordingly, Equitable will maintain and grow Concentra’s services to credit union customers – including in the areas of trust and treasury, residential mortgages, mortgage securitization, origination and syndication, as well as commercial lending and equipment leasing. Moreover, Equitable will establish a credit union-centric advisory board to explore opportunities for mutually beneficial growth.
Mortgage Brokers: Like Equitable, Concentra originates single family alternative, prime and reverse mortgage loans through independent mortgage brokers. Many of the broker relationships enjoyed by Concentra and Equitable overlap and some are new but either way, Equitable will work diligently to support all mortgage brokers through competitive products and response service.
Origination Partners: Like Equitable, Concentra purchases loans from other lenders. We will continue this practice and engage on an institution-by-institution basis to align interests and funding.
FinTech Partners: Equitable partners with financial technology companies to develop best-in-class services and prepare for future opportunities arising from the planned introduction of real-time payments and open banking in Canada. Equitable has used this partnership approach to good effect in its EQ Bank digital platform, which was named Canada’s #1 bank in the Forbes 2021 World’s Best Banks competition. Concentra has its own valued fintech partners and digital platform. Pairing Concentra’s digital banking and fintech strategy with EQ Bank will ensure Canadians receive the very best digital services and innovations.
An Exciting Future
It will take a few months to complete Equitable’s purchase of Concentra including fulfilling our obligations to regulators. Until then, Concentra and Equitable will operate as two separate Banks. During this time, Concentra will maintain excellent service for all customers and engage and support all partners.
By adding Concentra, Equitable will not only become Canada’s 7th largest bank by assets, it will be better able to fulfill its Challenger Bank purpose of enriching people’s lives. That’s the most important commitment of all.
Yours sincerely,