Equitable Bank parent EQB Inc. has announced an agreement to sell its commercial equipment leasing and financing subsidiary, Bennington Financial Corp., to Desjardins Group. The transaction is part of a broader strategic pivot by Canada’s seventh-largest lender ahead of an investor day scheduled for December.
Ontario-based Bennington specializes in providing equipment leasing services to small and medium-sized businesses through a broker network. As of July, the company maintained a portfolio of approximately $1.1 billion in lease receivables. Under the terms of the agreement, Desjardins will acquire 100 percent of Bennington shares at a discounted price equivalent to about 8 percent of lease receivables. Financial terms of the overall transaction were not disclosed by EQB.
EQB initially purchased Bennington in 2019 to diversify its operations. At the time of that acquisition, Bennington managed roughly $400 million in leases with a staff of 125 employees. Company officials noted that Bennington’s historical contributions to bank earnings were not material.
EQB Chief Executive Officer Chadwick Westlake stated that the divestiture enables the institution to reallocate its capital and operational resources toward core growth initiatives. In recent years, EQB has faced elevated provisions for credit losses—funds set aside by financial institutions to absorb potential loan defaults—and has experienced earnings growth lagging behind industry peers.
Market observers have noted that shedding the equipment leasing unit eliminates a significant contributor to EQB’s elevated credit costs. The move clears the path for investors to concentrate on the bank’s integration and development of PC Financial following its acquisition from Loblaw Cos. Ltd.
Regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions remain, with the transaction anticipated to finalize in the first half of 2027.
