Mr. Michael Jones reports

EQUITY FINANCIAL HOLDINGS REPORTS YEAR-END 2015 RESULTS

Equity Financial Holdings Inc. (EQI) has released its consolidated financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015 (dollar amounts are in thousands of dollars, except per-share amounts).

2015 financial highlights

• Mortgage originations of $214,851 for the year, up 204 per cent from 2014;
• Quarter-over-quarter increases in mortgage originations throughout 2015;
• Mortgage loan book of $383,282, up 29 per cent from 2014 and within 3 per cent of previous high level;
• Net interest margin of 2.91 per cent;
• Net interest income of $10,340, down 20 per cent from 2014 on lower margin and average portfolio size;
• Adjusted net loss of $1,290; adjusted basic loss per share of 14 cents;
• Net loss of $2,157, including charge for contingent consideration of $1,000 ($867 after tax)(1);
• Regulatory capital of $84,200 as at Dec. 31, 2015;
• Book value per share of $9.80 as at Dec. 31, 2015.

Note:

1. Adjusted net loss and adjusted basic loss per share are defined in the non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) financial measures section of EQI's MD&A (management's discussion and analysis) for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015. Reported net loss includes a charge for contingent consideration of $1,000 ($867 after tax) related to the 2013 sale of EQI's transfer agent and corporate trust business. Contingent consideration payable of $1,000 is the maximum contractual amount.

EQI's chief executive officer, Michael R. Jones, said: "Mortgage portfolio growth resumed in 2015 with increasing quarterly originations, culminating in fourth quarter originations of nearly $80-million, our highest fourth quarter and second-highest quarterly total in the company's mortgage lending history. In total, we originated new mortgages of $215-million in 2015, an increase of 204 per cent compared to the prior year, and our mortgage loan book grew 29 per cent to end 2015 at $383-million, just below our previous high level.

"We begin 2016 with fully staffed and trained mortgage underwriting and servicing teams as well as a risk management and compliance infrastructure designed to meet the requirements of the current regulatory environment. We remain focused on the non-prime and near-prime residential mortgage market in Ontario, and our sales and marketing team will continue to develop and build our key mortgage broker relationships. The primary focus of our management team in 2016 is to increase the size of our mortgage loan book while also preserving our average net interest margin, leading to profitable earnings levels in the near term."

                                       FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
                  (in thousands of dollars, except per-share and percentage amounts)

                                                             For the years ended

                                           Dec. 31, 2015           Dec. 31, 2014           Dec. 31, 2013
Operations
Net interest income                  $            10,340     $            12,855     $            10,328
Provision for credit losses                         (165)                    281                   (692)
Non-interest income                                1,694                   1,534                     998
Net interest income and other
income, including provision
for credit losses                                 11,869                  14,670                  10,634
Net interest margin                                 2.91%                   3.24%                   3.18%
Net (loss) from continuing
operations                           $            (2,157)    $            (2,919)    $              (327)
(Loss) per share from
continuing operations --
basic/diluted                               (0.23)/(0.23)           (0.30)/(0.30)           (0.04)/(0.04)
ROE (annualized)(1)                                 (2.5)%                  (3.1)%                  (0.4)%
Adjusted (loss) income and
EPS from continuing operations
Adjusted (loss) income               $            (1,290)    $             1,175     $               518
Adjusted (loss) earnings
per share -- basic/diluted(2)               (0.14)/(0.14)              0.12/0.12               0.06/0.06

1. ROE stands for return on equity and is a non-IFRS financial measure.
2. Adjusted net (loss) income from continuing operations, adjusted basic (loss) earnings per share from 
   continuing operations and adjusted diluted (loss) earnings per share from continuing operations are 
   non-IFRS financial measures.

The audited consolidated financial statements and MD&A for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, can be found on SEDAR and on EQI's website.

Analyst conference call

EQI will hold a conference call on Feb. 11, 2016, at 10 a.m. ET to discuss its operating results and to answer questions. Participants can dial in locally at 647-427-7450 or toll-free at 1-888-231-8191 and use conference ID 42106651.

Conference call archive

A telephone replay of the call will be available between 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 11, 2016, and midnight on March 10, 2016, by calling 416-849-0833 or toll-free at 1-855-859-2056 (enter passcode 42106651).

We seek Safe Harbor.