EDMONTON, Alberta – Canadian Western Bank (TSX: CWB) announced today that the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has approved an amendment to its normal course issuer bid (NCIB) authorized by CWB’s Board of Directors. The amendment increases the number of common shares that CWB may repurchase for cancellation by 1,767,000 to 3,534,000 common shares and represents a further 2% of the issued and outstanding common shares. This amendment increases the cumulative number of common shares available for repurchase under the NCIB to approximately 4% of the 88,929,045 common shares issued and outstanding at the close of business on September 17, 2018.
The original NCIB announced on September 27, 2018 was fully utilized, as CWB purchased and cancelled 1,767,000 common shares in the three months ended January 31, 2019. The amended NCIB will provide CWB with the flexibility to continue to manage its capital position while generating shareholder value.
Purchases of common shares may commence April 15, 2019 and will expire on the earlier of September 30, 2019 or the date on which CWB has either acquired the maximum number of common shares allowable or otherwise decided not to make any further repurchases. Purchases under the NCIB may be made by means of open market transactions through the facilities of the TSX or alternative Canadian trading systems. Other than block purchase exceptions made in accordance with TSX rules, daily purchases will be limited to a maximum of 60,111 common shares, which is 25% of the average daily trading volume of common shares for the six months ended August 31, 2018, being 240,446.
CWB has an automatic securities purchase plan (the plan) in place under which its arm’s length broker may purchase common shares of CWB pursuant to the NCIB. The plan defines a prearranged set of criteria under which its broker may make share purchases. The plan enables the purchase of CWB’s common shares at any time, including when CWB would not otherwise make purchases because of internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. The plan will terminate on the earliest of: the date on which the purchase limits specified in the plan have been attained, the date on which the NCIB terminates, or the date on which the plan is terminated by either CWB or its broker in accordance with its terms.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Williams
AVP, Investor Relations
CWB Financial Group
Phone: 780-508-8229
Email: [email protected]