Home Capital suspends dividend as deposits continue drain
TORONTO — Shares of Home Capital Corp. swung around wildly Monday after the company suspended its dividend and said it suffered from a further outflow of money from its high-interest savings accounts and GICs.
The fate of the subprime mortgage lender is being closely watched by investors, regulators and governments, as some market observers worry its woes could undermine the broader Canadian financial sector.
Home Capital said it has drawn $1.4 billion from a $2-billion emergency line of credit provided by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, one of Ontario’s largest public-sector pension funds, as people have rushed to pull their deposits from the struggling company.
“The company and its advisers continue to work towards seeking lower-cost sustainable funding solutions and to evaluate strategic alternatives to solidify and strengthen its successful mortgage origination platform,” Home Capital said in a statement.
The company’s stock closed up 16.75 per cent, or 98 cents, to $6.83 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after climbing as high as $6.88 and falling to as low as $5.06 in earlier trading.
In an effort to bolster confidence, Home Capital announced Monday three new board members including two former CEOs of major Ontario pension funds — Claude Lamoureux from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Paul Hagis of OMERS — as well as Sharon Sallows, a trustee for two major real estate trusts.
It also named Brenda Eprile, who joined the Home Capital board last year, as chairwoman. She replaces Kevin Smith, who will remain on the board.
“Claude, Paul and Sharon bring a tremendous amount of experience and skill that will be invaluable in helping the company deal with its operational challenges, and in ensuring that we move ahead to rebuild confidence in Home under the oversight of a very strong and trusted board of directors,” Eprile said in a statement.
Eprile was a senior member of the Ontario Securities Commission staff before becoming a consultant focused on regulatory affairs.
Ratings agency DBRS called the governance changes positive but said in a statement Monday that the company’s liquidity and funding “have yet to show signs of stability.”
Home Capital has been weathering a series of blows, including OSC staff allegations that the company and three senior executives misled investors in their handling of falsified loan applications. The company has vowed to defend itself against the accusations. Lawyers for the three men haven’t responded to requests for comment.
Dylan Steuart, an analyst at Industrial Alliance Securities, said Home Capital’s liquidity remains the main concern at the company. “While the continued restructuring of the board is a necessity given the reputational issues facing the company, it is likely offset by indications of continued outflow of funding at the company,” Steuart said.
Home Capital uses money deposited into GICs and savings accounts to help fund its mortgage lending. It estimates that $192 million will remain deposited in its high-interest savings accounts by the end of Monday, down from $1.4 billion two weeks ago. The balance deposited with GICs offered by its subsidiaries stood at $12.64 billion as of Friday.