Home Capital stock in turmoil after anonymous short seller’s post
TAMSIN MCMAHON, 24 August 2016
Shares of Home Capital Group Inc. were on a roller coaster this week after a popular investor website accused the company of hiding losses by selling bad mortgages to a firm run by one of its board members.
A report posted by someone identifying as a Home Capital short seller called “The Friendly Bear” on the website Seeking Alpha on Tuesday highlighted more than a dozen mortgages that Home Capital transferred last year to a mortgage brokerage called Re-Charge Corp, based in Ancaster, Ont. One of Re-Charge’s directors is William J. Walker, a partner in the Hamilton office of law firm Gowling WLG. Home Capital appointed Mr. Walker to its board as an independent director last November.
