EQB Inc at CIBC Eastern Institutional Investor Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : And then, you have kind of the last quarter of the last 12 months and the business has hit some speed bumps and it feels like, I got it step back and say, do I need to revisit my thesis? Are things structurally changed or are they just cyclically changed, right? And you're stepping back into the role after taking roughly six months away from EQB. So when you step back into the role, and you're looking at where the business is today, how are you sort of thinking about that?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : Because there's a lot of things to drill down on, we'll try not to jump too (multiple speakers) try not to jump too far ahead on your Investor Day expectations, but let's talk about some of the short-term challenges you -- I mean, you hit on, well, a number of them. But let's start with the PCLs, right, the loan losses, and I think what people are surprised by with the Q3 numbers was the losses in the residential mortgage book, right? So that EQB historically for a long period of time hasn't shown really ever. So what happened that led to the losses in Q3? Is this something we should expect remains a near-term challenge, which is just a blip, or is there anything the company is doing to respond to it in terms of underwriting practices or limiting losses?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : Okay. So maybe a little bit short-term noise if you want to call it that, but no need to change your core underwriting strategy or approach?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : Okay. And then obviously the equipment finance business from a lost perspective probably hasn't gone exactly the way you would have liked over the last 12 months, right? And I think that's really been focused on trucking business in particular and maybe one particular client within that. But nonetheless, how are you thinking about the equipment finance business? This isn't been a core part of what EQB has done historically. So how are you thinking about that business? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 / 1:45PM, EQB.TO - EQB Inc at CIBC Eastern Institutional Investor Conference

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : As I go back to the strong ROE that EQB has generated over time, I think one of the important ingredients into that and by design was a lower efficiency ratio, which is lower costs. But as I think you alluded to in your first answer, like that's kind of its slipped away a little bit over time, particularly more recently, and efficiency ratio is kind of more in line with the big six banks now. So how are you thinking about expenses, efficiency ratio, operating leverage going forward?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : I'II ask you about the capital allocation. I'm not sure I'll ask you about the evaluation part. But before we get there, there's another question I want to ask you more in the short-term, which is the NIM, right? So the net interest margin we saw quite a big increase in Q2, then reversal and quite a substantial decrease in Q3, right? Usually that volatility in NIM is not something bank investors want to see. Obviously if there's a ban, there's some acceptable volatility, but I look at the results and it was a 25-basis point move last quarter. That's a lot. How are you taking or are you taking a closer lens to that and thinking about managing that volatility and net interest margins?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : Any other questions from the audience? Go ahead, Brian. Unidentified Participant So just in terms of the 15% ROE, how do you envisage the set one level to support that? And obviously, EQB went off the path of the ARB but is there like even an ARB [like] approach or is there any conversations with the regulator or something that can accelerate that potentially, that debacle?

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : I said I wasn't going to ask you on evaluation, but I changed my mind. Since we're on this topic --

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : No, it's in a different context. You've outlined why you have a lot of excess capital. Clearly, there's some organic growth priorities for it. But if you look at the stock price, and I agree it is cheap, with all that excess capital, like what are you going to do in terms of share buybacks? It seems like a pretty interesting opportunity today.

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : It's good. We're pretty much out of time. But Chadwick, I really do want to give you an opportunity to give us kind of like, coming back as CEO, three to five key priorities that you're focused on today.

Question: Paul Holden - CIBC World Markets Corp - Analyst : That was great. We are out of time, so thank you. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. SEPTEMBER 25, 2025 / 1:45PM, EQB.TO - EQB Inc at CIBC Eastern Institutional Investor Conference