Equitable Bank announced on Oct. 28 the launch of its Cash Surrender Value MAX (CSV Max) Line of Credit, which complements its existing CSV Flex Line of Credit option. The bank also announced a new partnership agreement with iA Financial Group, building on its group of partnered insurers.

Equitable Bank says the CSV MAX product allows a wider range of Canadians to borrow against their insurance policies. “With CSV MAX, Canadians who are the age of majority will be able to borrow 90% of the cash surrender value of their whole life insurance policies as long as they can service the required monthly interest payments,” says the bank.

Equitable Bank's CSV MAX is available to Canadians that hold whole life insurance policies with one of Equitable Bank's partner insurers.

"Our experience in market with CSV FLEX quickly apprised us of the need for a higher loan-to-value CSV lending product as a solution to both decumulation and tax efficient borrowing during earning years" says Mahima Poddar, SVP of Strategy and Digital Banking at Equitable Bank. "Consistent with our Challenger Bank mantra, our CSV product teams seized the opportunity and brought an innovative new product to market as quickly as possible."

The CSV FLEX product will continue to serve Canadians aged 50 and up that hold whole life insurance policies with one of Equitable Bank's partner insurers. Depending on the age of the insured(s) and the projected growth of the policy, borrowers will be able to access up to 90 per cent of the cash surrender value of their policies without making ongoing interest or principal payments or affecting the policies' growth, says the bank.