Equitable Bank
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Canadian Schedule I bank focused on residential and commercial real-estate lending, savings, mortgages, and digital banking through EQ Bank.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Equitable Bank is a Canadian financial institution headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It specializes in residential and commercial real-estate lending while also providing personal banking through its digital EQ Bank operation. The institution began in 1970 as The Equitable Trust Company in Hamilton, Ontario, and developed from a small trust company into a national bank serving customers across Canada. The company operates through two closely related propositions. Equitable Bank serves borrowers, brokers, businesses, and specialized lending markets, including residential mortgages, commercial real-estate finance, reverse mortgages, home-equity lending, equipment leasing, and insurance-related financing. EQ Bank is its branchless digital banking arm, offering savings accounts, joint accounts, U.S.-dollar banking, tax-advantaged savings products, GICs, international money transfers, a mortgage marketplace, and a prepaid reloadable Mastercard. The digital model allows the bank to compete through online access, comparatively simple products, and deposit pricing rather than through a large physical branch network. The institution became a Schedule I bank on July 1, 2013, when The Equitable Trust Company was renamed Equitable Bank. This change enabled it to offer a broader range of deposit products, including guaranteed investment certificates, Tax-Free Savings Accounts, and high-interest savings accounts. In January 2016, it launched EQ Bank as a fully online direct-banking service. Its initial Savings Plus Account attracted attention with a 3.0% interest rate and no monthly fee, although the unexpectedly high volume of applications caused account-opening delays and led the bank to introduce a temporary reservation system. Technology has been central to the brand. EQ Bank moved its core banking platform to Microsoft Azure in 2019, presenting itself as the first Canadian bank to host its core banking environment in the cloud. Equitable Bank later announced a broader migration of banking systems to Azure, with completion targeted for 2026. The bank has also expanded its digital product range through international transfers, foreign-currency services, mortgage comparison and application tools, tax-advantaged accounts, and the EQ Bank Card. Equitable Bank expanded beyond its original lending base through acquisitions. It completed the purchase of Bennington Financial Services Corp. in 2019, adding equipment-leasing capabilities. In November 2022, EQB completed its acquisition of Concentra Bank, whose retail banking activity operated under the Wyth Financial brand. The transaction increased the group's scale and made Equitable Bank one of Canada's largest banks by assets. Wyth Financial was subsequently intended to transition to the EQ Bank brand. The parent company changed its legal name from Equitable Group Inc. to EQB in 2022, aligning the corporate identity with its operating businesses. EQB is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under EQB and is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. Reference materials describe the group as having more than $31 billion in deposits and more than $111 billion in combined assets under management and administration in 2023. EQ Bank was also reported to have more than 578,000 customers at that time and was ranked Canada's top Schedule I bank by Forbes World's Best Banks in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The brand's positioning combines specialist lending expertise with a digital-first retail proposition. It remains primarily Canadian in geographic scope and does not rely on an extensive branch network. Its competitive identity is built around online convenience, savings and deposit products, mortgage and real-estate expertise, technology-led service delivery, and the ability to serve customers and borrowers outside the traditional major-bank model.
History
Equitable Bank traces its origins to The Equitable Trust Company, established in 1970 in Hamilton, Ontario. The trust company initially operated from Hamilton and later developed a Toronto presence. By 1990 it had become an operating company with approximately $50 million in assets and four employees in its Toronto office. Equitable Group Inc. was created as the holding company in 2004 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Andrew Moor became president and chief executive officer in March 2007. Under his leadership, the group expanded its lending activities and developed a digital consumer-banking strategy alongside its established real-estate finance operations. On July 1, 2013, The Equitable Trust Company was renamed Equitable Bank and became a Schedule I bank. The new structure supported the wider offering of deposit products, including GICs, Tax-Free Savings Accounts, and high-interest savings accounts. Equitable Bank continued to focus on residential and commercial real-estate lending, while building capabilities in alternative mortgages, reverse mortgages, home-equity lending, business financing, and insurance-related lending. The next major step was the launch of EQ Bank on January 14, 2016. Designed as a completely online bank without branches, EQ Bank sought to attract Canadian savers with a simple, fee-conscious proposition. Its initial Savings Plus Account carried a 3.0% interest rate. The launch generated more applications than the bank's service and onboarding processes could immediately handle. Customer-service delays and slow account activations followed, and the bank introduced limits and a reservation system for new customers. The episode became an early demonstration of both the appeal and operational demands of digital banking at scale. EQ Bank progressively broadened its services. It introduced GICs in 2018, with terms ranging from three months to ten years, and in 2019 added international money transfers through a partnership with TransferWise, now Wise. The bank moved its core banking system to Microsoft Azure in November 2019, a technology decision that supported its digital operating model. In 2020 it expanded currency support, added joint savings accounts, and introduced TFSA and retirement savings products. In 2021 it launched a mortgage marketplace with nesto and introduced a U.S.-dollar account. Equitable Bank also grew through acquisitions. The purchase of Bennington Financial Services Corp., completed on January 1, 2019, added equipment leasing and expanded the group's presence in brokered commercial finance. In November 2022, EQB completed the acquisition of Concentra Bank from its ownership group in a transaction valued at approximately $495 million. Concentra's consumer business operated under the Wyth Financial name, which was intended to be replaced by the EQ Bank brand. The acquisition increased the group's scale and was associated with Equitable Bank becoming Canada's seventh-largest bank by assets. In June 2022, the holding company changed its legal name from Equitable Group Inc. to EQB, bringing the parent identity closer to the EQB and EQ Bank operating brands. In July of that year, the company announced a wider migration of banking systems to Microsoft Azure, with the objective of completing the transition by 2026. The EQ Bank product portfolio subsequently included personal and joint accounts, GICs, notice savings accounts, registered accounts, a U.S.-dollar account, international transfers, a mortgage marketplace, and the EQ Bank Card. The card, launched in January 2023, is a prepaid reloadable Mastercard positioned around no foreign-exchange fees, Canadian ATM access, and rewards features. The wider bank continued to combine digital deposits and payments with mortgage, commercial lending, and specialized financing. EQ Bank received national recognition in Forbes World's Best Banks rankings in 2021, 2022, and 2023, ranking first among Canadian banks in each of those years. Reference material reports that the group had more than $31 billion in deposits and more than $111 billion in combined assets under management and administration in 2023, while EQ Bank served more than 578,000 customers. In 2025, reporting cited in the reference material stated that Andrew Moor died at age 65 after serving as the bank's chief executive for many years. Later that year EQB announced an agreement to acquire President's Choice Financial from Loblaw, subject to completion in 2026. The transaction would further expand the group's digital and consumer-banking reach.
- 2025
EQB announces President's Choice Financial acquisition
[1]EQB agrees to acquire President's Choice Financial from Loblaw, with closing expected in 2026.
- 2023
EQ Bank Card launches
[1]EQ Bank introduces a prepaid reloadable Mastercard for digital banking customers.
- 2022
EQB acquires Concentra Bank
[1]The acquisition expands the group's banking scale and brings the Wyth Financial business into the EQB group.
- 2019
Bennington acquisition and cloud migration
[1]The group acquires Bennington Financial Services and EQ Bank moves its core banking system to Microsoft Azure.
- 2016
EQ Bank launches
[1]Equitable Bank launches a fully online, branchless direct-banking operation.
- 2013
The trust company becomes Equitable Bank
[1]The institution is renamed Equitable Bank and becomes a Schedule I bank.
- 2007
Andrew Moor becomes president and CEO
[1]Andrew Moor assumes leadership of the bank and its broader group.
- 2004
Equitable Group Inc. becomes the holding company
[1]The parent company is formed and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
- 1970
The Equitable Trust Company is founded
[1]The institution is established in Hamilton, Ontario, beginning the business that later becomes Equitable Bank.
Products and positioning
A Canadian digital-first bank combining competitive deposit products and online personal banking with specialist residential, commercial, and alternative lending capabilities.
Digital banking · 2016
EQ Bank Personal Account
The primary personal banking account in the EQ Bank digital offering. It is designed for online everyday banking and savings, with no branch network and a focus on accessible digital account management.
Savings account · 2016
EQ Bank Savings Plus Account
The account that anchored EQ Bank's original launch proposition. It was marketed as a high-interest, no-monthly-fee savings account and helped establish EQ Bank as a digital alternative to conventional Canadian banks.
Mortgage lending
Residential mortgages
Equitable Bank provides residential mortgage financing as a core lending business. Its activities include conventional and specialized mortgage solutions distributed through direct and broker channels.
Commercial lending
Commercial real-estate lending
The bank finances commercial real-estate borrowers through business mortgages and related lending solutions. This specialist lending capability is central to the bank's identity beyond consumer deposits.
Deposit products · 2018
GICs and term deposits
EQ Bank offers guaranteed investment certificates and term deposits, including terms ranging from short-duration products to ten-year maturities. These products provide fixed-term deposit options within its digital banking platform.
Digital mortgage service · 2021
Mortgage Marketplace
A digital mortgage-shopping and application service launched with nesto. It allows users to review a broad range of mortgage products, obtain online prequalification support, and receive digital updates during the application process.
Payment card · 2023
EQ Bank Card
A prepaid reloadable Mastercard introduced for EQ Bank customers. Its launch proposition included no foreign-exchange fee, Canadian ATM access, fee reimbursement features, cashback, and interest on the card balance at the applicable account rate.
Business financing · 2019
Equipment leasing
The group provides brokered equipment-leasing services through capabilities added with the acquisition of Bennington Financial Services Corp. The business extends Equitable's commercial-finance offering beyond property lending.
Brand decisions
2025
Agree to acquire President's Choice FinancialM&ABackground
EQB sought to broaden its consumer and digital banking presence through the acquisition of Loblaw's President's Choice Financial business.
Action taken
EQB announced an agreement to acquire the business, with closing expected in 2026.
Aftermath
The transaction remained subject to completion and was expected to expand EQB's consumer-banking reach.
Reported transaction value. (2025)
2022
Acquire Concentra BankM&ABackground
EQB aimed to increase scale and expand its banking capabilities beyond its existing specialist-lending and digital-deposit businesses.
Action taken
EQB completed the acquisition of Concentra Bank in a transaction reported at approximately $495 million.
Aftermath
The transaction increased the group's scale and brought the Wyth Financial business into the EQB group, with a planned transition to the EQ Bank brand.
Transaction value. (2022)
2019
Move core banking infrastructure to the cloudStrategyBackground
EQ Bank was developing a technology-led operating model intended to support scalable branchless banking.
Action taken
The bank migrated its core banking system to Microsoft Azure and later announced a broader Azure migration program targeted for completion by 2026.
Aftermath
The move reinforced EQ Bank's digital-first positioning and became a foundation for subsequent online product expansion.
2016
Launch EQ Bank as a branchless digital bankProduct launchBackground
Equitable Bank sought to build a national consumer deposit business without the cost and infrastructure of a traditional branch network.
Action taken
It launched EQ Bank with the Savings Plus Account, emphasizing online access, no monthly fee, and an introductory high interest rate.
Aftermath
Demand exceeded operational capacity, causing onboarding delays and leading to temporary enrollment limits and a reservation system.
Recent events
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