Edmonton, August 28, 2020 – CWB Financial Group (TSX: CWB) (CWB) today announced financial performance for the three and nine month periods ended July 31, 2020, with third quarter net income available to common shareholders of $62 million and adjusted earnings per common share of $0.74, up 21% and 23%, respectively, from the previous quarter.
“We delivered solid results this quarter, as our teams continue to work diligently to support our clients and prudently manage through the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian economy and financial markets,” said Chris Fowler, President and CEO. “We are encouraged by our sequential financial performance, where net earnings increased strongly, primarily due to a lower estimated performing loan provision for credit losses and higher net interest income.”
“We are excited to continue to expand our presence in Ontario. We closed the acquisition of T.E. Wealth and Leon Frazer & Associates, which have a significant proportion of their client base in Toronto and Montreal and will support acceleration of full-service client growth. We also achieved further geographic diversification of our loan portfolio, with 10% annual loan growth in Ontario. I am also very pleased to announce that we have opened our first full-service branch in Ontario, with the Mississauga branch opening on August 4th.”
“We remain focused to provide proactive service and consistently improve our client experience. We hit a key milestone on our digital roadmap with the launch of a fully digitized onboarding process for Motive Financial. We also delivered 22% annual growth in branch-raised deposits, and carefully managed deposit pricing in this low interest rate environment to stabilize net interest margin.”
“We continued to provide a safe and healthy environment for our clients and our people as public health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 began to relax. Our dedicated teams remain in frequent communication with our clients to support them through the re-opening of provincial economies, and we have seen significant reductions in deferral arrangements. At present, 10% of loan balances remain under some form of payment deferral, down from our peak of over 25%, with over half of those making interest only payments.”
“Our disciplined and secured lending model continues to support the resilience of our business, and our provision for credit losses on total loans as a percentage of average loans reflects our current expectation for a slightly longer economic recovery compared to the previous quarter. Our capital ratios are strong and well above regulatory requirements, and we hold ample liquidity to support our clients and continue to invest in our strategic priorities.”
“We are excited for the quarter ahead despite the volatile operating environment, thanks to the passion and dedication of our teams to support our clients and advance our strategic initiatives. We continue to expect approval to transition to the Advanced Internal Ratings Based (AIRB) approach for regulatory capital and risk management before this fiscal year end. Leveraging the AIRB approach is expected to result in improved capital ratios that better reflect the strength of our balance sheet. Transition to AIRB will also help level the competitive playing field to position us to deliver higher growth and profitability with an enhanced view of risk. Achievement of this next step will be a foundational capability for us and will enable us to realize our full potential across Canada.”
Read the Report to Shareholders in full
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Williams, MBA
AVP, Investor Relations
Phone: (780) 508-8229
Email: [email protected]