The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, March 1, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine has lowered his recommendation for EQB to "sector perform" from "outperform" following third quarter results that fell short of his expectations. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Dechaine lowered his share target for EQB to $95 from $98. Analysts on average target the shares at $105.44. Mr. Dechaine says in a note: "Loan losses [were] higher than forecast (with another GIL spike). Two-thirds of this quarter's provisions were tied to the equipment finance portfolio (i.e., transportation sector). While we would normally look through a 'lumpy' commercial loss, we have to consider the broader credit picture that includes another spike in impairments. The GIL [gross impaired loan] balance increased 25 per cent quarter-over-quarter (following a 60-per-cent spike during Q4/23), with a nearly 50-per-cent increase of personal loan impairments and a nearly 20-per-cent increase in commercial GILs." Mr. Dechaine expects expense growth to be "a persistent drag" on earnings in the near term, projecting higher organic expense growth "as it builds its brand and invests in technology."