Home Capital makes another board change
Mortgage lender says high interest savings account deposit balances rise
Home Capital announced another change to its board of directors on Thursday, revealing that John Marsh, one of its original investors, is stepping down.
Joining the company's board is James Lisson, a lawyer who has been a partner at several large law firms and has worked as a consultant and senior advisor on commercial law at the federal Department of Justice.
Home Capital said Lisson has experience in financial services law, operational issues, governance, stakeholder relations, and risk and reputation management.
A board member for 25 years, the departing Marsh is part owner of the Peace Bridge Duty Free, and has owned and operated companies involved with engineering and energy.
The change is the latest this month to Home Capital's board as the company grapples with an Ontario Securities action against it and some former executives, and heavy client withdrawals from the savings accounts at the mortgage lender.
In recent weeks, the company has added former Royal Bank of Canada executive Alan Hibben to its board to replace company founder Gerald Soloway, who retired on May 5. Soloway is one of the individuals named in the OSC's action.
Three days after that, the company added a trio of new people to its board, including:
- Claude Lamoureux, former chief executive officer of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and a co-founder of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance.
- Paul Haggis, former CEO of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and former CEO of Alberta Treasury Branches.
- Sharon Sallows, an experienced director.
The company also said on May 8 that Brenda Eprile, an independent director since 2016, became chair of the board, replacing Kevin Smith, who is still an independent director.
Deposits rise
In an update Thursday on its financial situation, Home Capital said high interest savings account (HISA) deposit balances at its Home Trust unit stood at approximately $120.2 million as of the end of Wednesday. That marked the first time in weeks that the balance had gone up. The balance stood at $116.8 million on Tuesday.
On May 1, the balance of the company's high-interest savings accounts stood at $324.1 million. Back in late March, the company's balance of those accounts stood at about $2 billion.
The company uses the money from its deposits to fund its mortgage lending.