Operator: Thank you. The next question is from Joo Ho Kim from Credit Suisse. Please go ahead.
Joo Ho Kim: Hi. Good morning. And thanks for taking my question. Just firstly, on the cards growth, the growth was very strong in Canada this quarter. Just wondering, if you can comment on what you’re seeing on the revolving balances? And how you think about cards growth next year? And if that’s a meaningful, kind of, contributor to your margin outlook next year for the business? Thanks.
Ernie Johannson: Thanks, Joo Ho. It’s Ernie. I’ll answer the question. Our cards business has had a strong performance improvement year-over-year and continues. It’s a function of a number of things. One is, we’ve recently launched out several new very effective products that are relevant for Canadians overall, and as a result, have had record increases in our acquisition. So we’re growing new customers into our franchise, cross-selling within our existing franchise. And then overall, we’re benefiting from an improvement in general market conditions on spending. So our balances are indeed up. Our revolve rate, as you point out, revolving balances, they’re not up to where they were pre-pandemic. And we don’t expect them to be moving there right now.
They will over the course of next year. That will, in fact, improve our overall cards business performance. But we’re starting to see a nice pickup in our overall business model, whether it be the number of customers we have, their spend and their engagement level. They’re spending in a variety of categories. And then also, we’re seeing some improvement in our overall balances. The other thing to note is just recently, we’ve launched an interesting new product against our card base, which will help again encourage our customers to continue to do the prudent thing around their finances. And it’s a little bit like a buy now pay later, but a smarter option called PaySmart, which allows our customers, again, to be able to do some small and lending on their credit cards.
So, overall, I’d say the performance is strong, will continue and be supportive of our overall revenue growth next year in the personal business and also NIM, as you rightly pointed out, but to a lesser extent, just given the size of the balances involved.
Joo Ho Kim: Thank you. That’s it for me.
Operator: Thank you. And our last question is from Scott Chan from Canaccord Genuity. Please, go ahead.
Scott Chan: Good morning, everyone. I’ll keep it to a quick modeling question for Tayfun. On the preferred shares, the dividend and the expense in the quarter and just expense in the quarter was — it was a lot higher than last quarter, I think $77 million versus $47 million. Can you remind me the activities in the quarter? And if there’s any upcoming activities that you know of? And is this a good run rate going forward?
Tayfun Tuzun: Yes. I think we had a new issuance in the quarter, about $1 billion, and that impacted the quarter-over-quarter change in the coupons. That’s the delta between Q3 and Q4.
Scott Chan: Was it at the start of the quarter?
Tayfun Tuzun: It was in September, I think.
Scott Chan: September?
Tayfun Tuzun: Yes.
Scott Chan: Okay. Thank you.
Tayfun Tuzun: Yes.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes the question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the call over to Darryl White.
Darryl White: Well, thank you, operator, and thank you all for your questions. I’ll conclude the morning with a few key and important themes. The year’s overall results were very strong with PPPT growth of 7%, continued positive operating leverage for the fifth consecutive year. Our expenses remain well managed, particularly given inflationary pressures. We’ve committed to delivering operating leverage again in 2023. Our credit performance remains strong. We’ve got significant allowance that enables us to protect and, I will say, grow the bank. And we’re going forward from a position of strength with an advantaged mix that’s set to perform in any environment. I’m confident that our purpose driven strategy will continue to deliver consistent financial performance. So I want to thank all of you for participating in today’s call. We look forward to speaking to you again in the New Year. Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. The conference has now ended. Please disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.
