The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that the National Bank of Canada startled investors in early October when it announced a dilutive $300-million offering of common shares to shore up capital in the face of several unpleasant and unexpected surprises. The Globe's David Milstead writes that most investors believed National Bank's move was an isolated event. Investors punished National Bank, leaving its peers relatively unscathed. Far less noted, says The Globe, was a capital action the following week by Bank of Montreal, which issued $600-million of preferred stock. The terms of the deal were far more onerous than previous similar deals by Canadian banks, says National Bank Financial analyst Peter Routledge, and should be of more concern to investors, even if they shrugged off the news. He says, "While [National Bank's] equity raise garnered most of the headlines, we consider the implications of BMO's private placement, which flew under many investors' radar, to have more significant ramifications for the sector over all." The Globe says no one forecasts a rash of dilutive common-stock offerings in the coming months. Still, capital plays a role and could make headlines next week.