The crisis at mortgage lender Home Capital is putting pressure on other Canadian lenders, who have seen their share prices drop, and — in some cases — depositors withdrawing their money. That’s been the case with Equitable Bank, known online as EQ Bank, which on Wednesday announced it had secured a $2-billion line of credit, just in case, from Canada’s “big six” banks. Those are Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and TD Bank. Although it has echoes of the $2-billion lifeline that Home Capital secured last week as it faced a run on its deposits, Equitable’s CEO is quick to point out that its own loan is very different.

A sign is displayed outside the headquarters of Equitable Bank, a subsidiary of Equitable Group Inc., in Toronto, Ontario, May 1. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren) "Bankers know the industry best and if all six of Canada's largest banks have the confidence to support Equitable Bank, it is evident that our customers, whether they be savers and depositors or borrowers, should have similar confidence," Andrew Moor said in a statement. It’s precisely confidence that Equitable is worried about. The bank saw a small run on its deposits last week, losing some $75 million, or 2.4 per cent of the total, according to a report in the Globe and Mail. By contrast, Home Capital lost 72 per cent of its high-interest deposits last week, falling to $391 million from $1.4 billion. Equitable's shares were trading at $45.80 as of mid-day Wednesday, down more than 25 per cent since the Home Capital crisis exploded last week. That decline comes despite the fact the bank reported record-high earnings on Monday, with profit up 55 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, compared to the same period a year earlier. Its mortgages under management expanded 23 per cent in a year, to $21.7 billion.