Canada regulator steps up antitrust review of Smith Financial bid for Home Capital 

Reuters exclusively reported that Canada’s competition regulator had stepped up its antitrust probe into Smith Financials’ C$1.7 bid for mortgage lender Home Capital, in a sign the deal could see and extended review. In a statement to Reuters, Canada’s competition bureau said it has asked the parties to provide additional information to help decide whether the transaction would lessen competition in the industry. Smith Financials’ bid for Home Capital was the second M&A deal in Canada’s already consolidated banking sector last year, and investors are closely watching every move of the commission for clues on whether the deal will be approved or blocked.