Mr. Chadwick Westlake reports

EQUITABLE BANK CLOSES RECORD-SETTING $300 MILLION DEPOSIT NOTE

EQB Inc. has made its latest milestone as it closes a $300-million fixed-rate deposit note and returns to this funding market for the first time since 2022. Investor demand led to an issuance at the top end of the announced target size and included the largest-ever number of investors, jointly reinforcing the strength and stability of Equitable Bank's challenger bank value proposition.

The 2.75-year $300 million deposit note was offered at a 5.16% fixed rate and matures on January 11, 2027. Approximately one-third of the 47 investors were new to Equitable Bank's deposit note program, and the total order book was 4.2 times oversubscribed. The transaction, priced at 130bps over the Government of Canada curve, represents Equitable Bank's tightest-ever new issue spread for this tenor and also resulted in significant secondary curve re-pricing.

"The success of this milestone issuance reflects both the efficacy of our funding diversification strategy as well as rapidly growing investor appetite for Equitable Bank's unique challenger story," said Chadwick Westlake, chief financial officer. "Investors are clearly ready for the new kind of bank that we have championed since day one. We are invigorated by this outsized response to our offering as we continue to plan for a bold future in which funding diversification will remain a critical lever."

The issuance was completed with CIBC World Markets, Scotia Capital and TD Securities acting as joint leads and bookrunners, supported by BMO Nesbitt Burns, National Bank Financial and RBC Dominion Securities as co-managers. This deposit note ranks equally and rateably with all of Equitable Bank's present and future unsecured and unsubordinated liabilities, and deposit notes are not eligible for Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance.

About Equitable Bank

Equitable Bank has a clear mission to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. As Canada's Challenger Bank(TM) and seventh largest bank by assets, it leverages technology to deliver exceptional personal and commercial banking experiences and services to over 607,000 customers and more than six million credit union members through its businesses. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB and EQB.PR.C), a leading digital financial services company with $119 billion in combined assets under management and administration (as at January 31, 2024). Through its digital EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca), its customers have named it the best bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021.

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