Home Capital Reports Net Income up 16.0% year over year:

• Diluted Earnings per Share are $1.90, up 15.2%;
• Return on Equity was 24.3% for the quarter.

TORONTO, Nov. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Home Capital today reported another quarter of solid results and strong origination volumes.

The Company's Third Quarter Report, including Management's Discussion and Analysis, is available on Home Capital's website at www.homecapital.com and the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at www.sedar.com.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

¹See definition of Taxable Equivalent Basis (TEB) under Non-GAAP Measures of the unaudited interim consolidated financial report.
²Total assets under administration include total on-balance sheet assets and off-balance sheet loans.
³In 2013 the Company classified Home Trust mortgages used as CMB replacement assets as securitized mortgages.  In 2012 these were classified as pledged securities.  Prior periods in 2012 have been restated to reflect the current classification.
⁴Total loans include loans held for sale.
⁵Loans under administration includes total loans and off-balance sheet loans.
⁶These figures relate to the Company's operating subsidiary, Home Trust Company and are calculated under Basel III for 2013 and Basel II for 2012.
⁷During Q3 2013, the Company excluded from its assets, for purposes of calculating the Assets to Regulatory Capital Multiple, mortgages that are off-balance sheet as a result of sales of interest only strips in light of regulatory communications confirming this treatment.  The comparative multiples have been restated to reflect this treatment.

THIRD QUARTER 2013 HIGHLIGHTS

Key results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2013 included:

• Net income increased to $66.4 million for the third quarter and $187.7 million for the first nine months of 2013, up 16.0% and 15.1% over the comparable periods in 2012. Adjusted net income, as defined in Table 2, was $64.6 million for Q3 2013 and $189.5 million for the first nine months of 2013, representing increases of 12.9% and 16.3% over the comparable periods of 2012. Adjusted net income was also up 4.4% from $61.9 million in Q2 2013.
  
  
• Diluted earnings per share were $1.90 for the quarter and $5.37 year to date representing increases of 15.2% and 14.7% over the $1.65 and $4.68 earned in the comparable periods of 2012 and an increase of 7.3% over the $1.77 last quarter.
  
  
• During the quarter, the Company recognized $1.9 million in a gain on sale from the sale of interest only strips of underlying mortgages with a principal value of $191.8 million. In the quarter, Home Capital received a favorable regulatory ruling confirming that the underlying mortgages in these transactions can be excluded from the calculation of the assets to capital multiple.  Please see the discussion below.
  
  
• Net interest income, before provisions, continued in an upward trend, reaching $106.6 million in the third quarter and $311.0 million year to date, increasing from $99.5 million and $281.6 million recorded in the same periods of 2012 and from $102.5 million earned in Q2 2013. The growth in net interest income reflects strong net on-balance sheet loan growth in the traditional loan portfolio.
  
  
• Net interest margin (TEB) was 2.16% in both the quarter and on a year-to-date basis. This is up from 2.14% and 2.08% in the same periods of 2012 and the 2.14% recorded last quarter. The increase year over year reflects the combination of the shift to higher yielding traditional mortgages relative to securitized mortgages and improved spreads earned on non-securitized lending year to date.
  
  
• Return on equity was strong at 24.3% for the quarter and continues to be in excess of the Company's minimum performance objective of 20%.
  
  
• The credit quality of the loan portfolio remains strong with continued low non-performing loans and credit losses that are well within expected levels. Net non-performing loans as a percentage of gross loans (NPL ratio) ended the quarter at 0.32% compared to 0.31% at the end of last quarter, 0.33% at the end of last year and 0.28% one year ago. The annualized credit provision as a percentage of gross loans (PCL ratio) of 0.06% has decreased from the 0.10% in both last quarter and one year ago.
  
  
• Capital ratios remain high with Home Trust's Common Equity Tier 1 ratio (CET 1 ratio) ending the quarter at 16.80%, while Tier 1 and Total Capital Ratios were 16.80% and 19.81%, respectively.  Home Trust's Assets to Capital (ACM) multiple was 13.33 at the end of the quarter compared to 13.36 at June 30, 2013 and 14.07 one year ago.
  
  
• Total loans under administration, which includes securitized mortgages that qualify for off-balance sheet accounting, increased to $19.53 billion, reflecting increases of $1.89 billion or 10.7% from $17.64 billion one year ago, and $1.49 billion or 8.3% from $18.04 billion at the end of 2012 (11.0% on an annualized basis).
  
  
• Strong demand for the Company's products continues to support residential loan growth. Total mortgage originations in the quarter increased to $1.99 billion from $1.63 billion last quarter and $1.68 billion in the same quarter last year.  Year-to-date loan originations were $5.01 billion, up from $4.53 billion in 2012.
  
  
• Traditional residential mortgage originations increased to $1.31 billion in the quarter, up from $1.23 billion in Q3 2012 and $1.24 billion in Q2 2013. Year-to-date traditional mortgage originations were $3.54 billion, up from $3.33 billion last year. The Company continues to experience strong demand for its traditional product offerings, which continue to be of high credit quality. This continues to enhance profitability and asset quality.
  
  
• Accelerator (insured) residential mortgage originations increased to $272.6 million in the quarter, up from $236.7 million in Q3 2012 and $260.3 million in last quarter. Year-to-date originations of $654.5 million are up from the $630.5 million originated in the same period last year. Accelerator originations are expected to increase compared to current levels as the Company increases its focus on origination of new Accelerator mortgages and the renewal of its existing portfolios.
  
  
• Multi-unit residential mortgage originations were $326.3 million in the quarter and $583.3 million year to date compared to $114.3 million and $229.6 million in the same periods last year and $54.3 million last quarter. The Company securitized and sold $235.5 million in Q3 2013 resulting in $2.9 million in securitization gains. The insured multi-unit residential market is relatively limited and the Company participates as appropriate opportunities are available through various origination channels. Consequently, origination volumes can vary significantly from quarter to quarter.
  
  
• Commercial mortgage advances were $49.3 million for the quarter and $124.0 million year to date compared to $52.6 million and $186.3 million in the comparable periods of 2012 and $44.0 million last quarter. Store and apartment mortgage advances were $24.3 million in the quarter and $75.4 million year to date compared to $18.2 million and $93.9 million in the comparable periods of 2012 and $27.5 million last quarter.
  
  
• The consumer retail credit portfolio, which includes durable household goods, such as water heaters and larger-ticket home improvement items, reached $328.0 million in Q3 2013, up 47.9% from $221.8 million one year ago. The Company has been successful at expanding relationships with its business partners to increase this portfolio which offers attractive returns for the risk profile.

During the quarter, OSFI confirmed the Company's proposed treatment of mortgages underlying sales of interest only strips as it affects the measurement of the regulatory asset to capital multiple. This favourable ruling confirms that off-balance sheet capital treatment can be achieved for securitized mortgages in certain situations and has resulted in an immediate increase of the Company's unutilized lending capacity. The ruling also provides significant flexibility with respect to growth of the portfolio of insured prime residential mortgages originated or renewed by the Company. The significance of this development is discussed under Capital and Lending Capacity in the Capital Management section of the Management's Discussion and Analysis in the Company's Third Quarter 2013 Report, which is available on Home Capital's website. As discussed above, in September the Company sold interest only strips of underlying mortgages with a principal value of $191.8 million. This resulted in a gain of $1.9 million in the quarter.

The Company continues to experience strong demand for its mortgage lending products.  Recent information indicates that modest increases in sales volumes and prices occurred in the quarter, which is reflective of relatively balanced markets. This is consistent with the Company's experience and observations of a healthy market with listings and sales in balance. The Company has not observed evidence of a "housing bubble" and expects that it will be able to continue to expand its share of the market through its network of brokers and its business development programs.

In the previous quarter, the Company reported that, based on its review of properties, it did not expect to incur significant losses as a result of the dramatic flooding in Alberta that occurred late in the second quarter.  We are pleased to report that, although a number of borrowers were affected by the flooding and a small number have asked for revisions to payments, no significant losses have been reported as of this date and the Company does not expect significant losses.

Senior Management and the Board of Directors are pleased to announce that the Company further strengthened its senior executive team during the quarter with the appointment of Fariba Rawhani to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, along with Carol Ferguson to the position of Vice President, Human Resources. Ms. Rawhani is a seasoned information technology executive with 28 years of experience in IT leadership and transformation spanning public sector agencies, and numerous private sector industries including 16 years in the financial services industry.  She has managed highly complex IT programs involving large teams of professionals, delivering senior IT leadership for national and international Fortune 100 companies. Ms. Ferguson brings to the organization over 25 years of financial services industry experience and a proven track record of building strong Human Resources teams. She specializes in delivering customized, practical human capital solutions, most notably in succession planning and leadership development.

On September 25, 2013, Home Trust was pleased to host and sponsor the first annual Home Trust Tom Trenouth Charity Golf Tournament.  Over 144 brokers and industry partners were in attendance and overwhelming support was received from everyone involved.  The proceeds of $67 thousand from the tournament were donated to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada.  The Company is looking forward to the second annual tournament which promises to be even more successful. 

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, and in light of the Company's solid performance, profitability and strong financial position, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per common share, payable on December 1, 2013 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 15, 2013.

The Company continues to deliver solid results in terms of growth, high returns and increased dividends. Despite the persistent international economic instability and modest economic improvement in Canada, the Company's performance continues to reflect the strength and the successful execution of its core strategy.

With solid performance in all aspects of Home Capital's business, management continues to expect the positive performance the Company experienced during the first nine months 2013 to continue for the remainder of year and into 2014.

Additional information concerning the Company's targets and related expectations for 2013, including the risks and assumptions underlying these expectations, may be found in Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of the quarterly report.

Third Quarter Results Conference Call
The conference call will take place on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. Participants are asked to call 5 to 15 minutes in advance, 647-427-7450 in Toronto or toll-free 1-888-231-8191 throughout North America. The call will also be accessible in listen-only mode via the Internet at www.homecapital.com.

Conference Call Archive
A telephone replay of the call will be available between 2:30 p.m. Thursday, November 7, 2013 and midnight Thursday, November 14, 2013 by calling 416-849-0833 or 1-855-859-2056 (enter passcode 80101898). The archived audio web cast will be available for 90 days on CNW Group's website at www.newswire.ca and Home Capital's website at www.homecapital.com.

Home Capital published its financial objectives for 2013 on page 18 of the Company's 2012 Annual Report. The following table compares actual performance to date against each of these objectives.

Table 2: Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

From time to time Home Capital Group Inc. makes written and verbal forward-looking statements. These are included in the Annual Report, periodic reports to shareholders, regulatory filings, press releases, Company presentations and other Company communications. Forward-looking statements are made in connection with business objectives and targets, Company strategies, operations, anticipated financial results and the outlook for the Company, its industry, and the Canadian economy. These statements regarding expected future performance are "financial outlooks" within the meaning of National Instrument 51-102.  Please see the risk factors, which are set forth in detail on pages 55 through 68 of the Company's 2012 Annual Report, as well as its other publicly filed information, which are available on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com, for the material factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from these statements.  These risk factors are material risk factors a reader should consider, and include credit risk, funding and liquidity risk, structural interest rate risk, operational risk, investment risk, strategic and business risk, reputational risk and regulatory and legal risk along with additional risk factors that may affect future results.  Forward-looking statements can be found in the Report to the Shareholders and the Outlook Section in the quarterly report.   Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "will,"  "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "forecast," "may," and "could" or other similar expressions.

By their very nature, these statements require the Company to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, general and specific, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, global capital market activity, changes in government monetary and economic policies, changes in interest rates, inflation levels and general economic conditions, legislative and regulatory developments, competition and technological change. The preceding list is not exhaustive of possible factors.

These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, whether written or verbal, that may be made from time to time by it or on its behalf, except as required by securities laws.

Assumptions about the performance of the Canadian economy and its effect on Home Capital's business are material factors the Company considers when setting its objectives, targets and outlook.  In determining expectations for economic growth, both broadly and in the financial services sector, the Company primarily considers historical and forecasted economic data provided by the Canadian government and its agencies.  In setting and reviewing its targets, objectives and outlook for the remainder of 2013, management's expectations continue to assume:

• The Canadian economy will produce modest growth in 2013 with relatively stable to modestly improving employment conditions in most regions and inflation will generally be within the Bank of Canada's target of 1% to 3%, leading to stable credit losses and continued strong demand for the Company's lending products.
  
  
• The Canadian economy will continue to be heavily influenced by the economic conditions in the United States and global markets and, as such, the Company is prepared for the variability to plan that this may lead to.
  
  
• The Bank of Canada continues to indicate that increases to its target overnight interest rate are not imminent and, as such, the Company is assuming the rate will remain at its current level for the balance of 2013 and for the foreseeable future. This is expected to continue to support relatively low mortgage interest rates for the foreseeable future.
  
  
• The housing market will remain relatively stable with balanced supply and demand conditions in most regions supported by continued low interest rates, relatively stable to modestly improving employment, and immigration.  There will be declines in housing starts and resale activity compared to prior years with relatively stable prices throughout most of Canada. This supports continued stable credit quality and strong demand for the Company's products.
  
  
• Consumer debt levels will remain serviceable by Canadian households.
  
  
• The Company will have uninterrupted access to the mortgage and deposit markets through broker networks.

Non-GAAP Measures

The Company uses a number of financial measures to assess its performance.  Some of these measures are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, are not defined by GAAP, and do not have standardized meanings that would ensure consistency and comparability between companies using these measures.  Definitions of non-GAAP measures can be found under Non-GAAP Measures in the Management's Discussion and Analysis included in the Company's Third Quarter 2013 Report.

Regulatory Filings

The Company's continuous disclosure materials, including interim filings, annual Management's Discussion and Analysis and audited consolidated financial statements, Annual Information Form, Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Proxy Circular are available on the Company's website at www.homecapital.com, and on the Canadian Securities Administrators' website at www.sedar.com.

About Home Capital

Home Capital Group Inc. is a public company, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (HCG), operating through its principal subsidiary, Home Trust Company. Home Trust is a federally regulated trust company offering deposits, residential and non-residential mortgage lending, securitization of insured residential first mortgage products, consumer lending and credit card services. Licensed to conduct business across Canada, Home Trust has branch offices in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Manitoba.

SOURCE: Home Capital Group Inc.