RE:LiquidityComparing this to Lehman is disingenious. There are no falling house prices (at least precipitously, like they were in the US), and we have a fairly stable employment picture.
They can rebrand, exonerate themselves with the OSC to ensure no wrongdoing (key step in rebuilding trust and why I presume they brought in ex-OSC types on the board), and perhaps sell some of their perfectly fine assets. Why not reduce their balance sheet and regrow from a position of strength instead of further giving up control?
The narrative here seems to be that they lied, but if you consider the regulations on continuous disclosure.... does a few bad apples in the mortgage barrel constitute a material change to the nature of the business, operations or capital of the issuer? I think not.
This is, as noted, a witch hunt by a bunch of clueless buffoons who are trying to set an example to other lenders not to be wishy-washy with the rules. The intent was to punish, not kill. I see this as short exuberance and a good long from these levels.