PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation

What PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation does

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation was a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based mortgage investment corporation (MIC) founded in 2005 that originated short-term transitional residential and commercial mortgages for borrowers unable to qualify with traditional banks. The company's core product was a maximum 24-month mortgage designed to help non-conventional borrowers, including new Canadians, self-employed commission-based earners, real estate investors, credit-challenged individuals, and home equity seekers, build credit until transitioning to conventional lenders. The platform relied on traditional manual underwriting with no disclosed technology automation or AI/ML capabilities, and supplemented its loan products with an embedded credit counseling service. PrimeWest did not charge pre-payment penalties and operated rates above conventional lender benchmarks to compensate for elevated credit risk.

The company's go-to-market was bifurcated between direct-to-consumer online applications and a broker-driven channel, supplemented by referral partnerships with realtor associations in Saskatoon and Regina. Marketing was localized through community sponsorships (triathlons, SPCA kennels, athlete sponsorships) and content on primewest.ca, rather than broad digital campaigns. Underwriting flexibility, the absence of pre-payment penalties, and bundled credit counseling were positioned as differentiators against traditional banks for borrowers in transitional credit situations.

PrimeWest funded its mortgage portfolio through public equity offerings and operated as a publicly traded entity on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol PRI from March 10, 2016 until its voluntary liquidation. The company raised over CAD $20 million in equity since launch and paid consistent quarterly dividends of 2% (8% annualized) from June 2006 through June 2016. In 2018 the company became the subject of class actions against its directors, and on August 16, 2019 the Board approved a Liquidation Plan; shareholders ratified voluntary liquidation on September 24, 2019, with KPMG Inc. appointed as Liquidator and the windup effective October 24, 2019. The company's current operating status is closed.

Name

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation

Legal name

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation

Website

https://primewest.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation was a Saskatoon-based mortgage investment corporation (founded 2005, voluntarily liquidated October 2019) that offered short-term transitional mortgages (max 24 months) to non-conventional borrowers in Western Canada who could not qualify with traditional banks, distributing returns as dividends to public shareholders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mortgage Investment / Alternative Lending

NAICS

Real Estate Credit (522292), Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (52229)

SIC

Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Subprime Installment Loans (Non-Prime Personal Loans) (FSAKAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency & Short-Term Installment Personal Loans (Unsecured) (FSAKAAAH)

Keywords

• Transitional mortgage lending
• Alternative mortgage financing
• Mortgage investment corporation
• Non-conventional borrower lending
• Short-term residential mortgages

Headquarters

HQ city

Saskatoon

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Mortgage Interest Income: PrimeWest generates revenue through interest payments on short-term residential and commercial mortgages it provides to borrowers who do not qualify with traditional lenders. The mortgages are transitional in nature, typically with maximum 24-month terms, designed to help borrowers build credit for eventual qualification with conventional lenders.
2. Dividend Distributions to Shareholders: From June 30, 2006 to June 30, 2016, dividends were consistently distributed at a rate of 2% per quarter or 8% annually, paid from net income to shareholders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation provided short-term transitional residential and commercial mortgages (maximum 24-month terms) to borrowers who did not qualify with traditional banks, such as new Canadians, self-employed individuals, real estate investors, and credit-challenged borrowers. The mortgages carried no pre-payment penalties and were paired with credit counseling services to help clients build credit history for transition to conventional lenders.

Product overview

PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation is a Saskatchewan-based mortgage investment corporation offering a single core product line focused on transitional mortgages. The primary offering is short-term residential mortgages (maximum 24 months) for borrowers who don't qualify with traditional banks, supplemented by commercial mortgage options and credit counseling services. The company was established in 2005 and went into voluntary liquidation in 2019. The business model centers on helping clients build credit until they can transition to conventional lenders, with no pre-payment penalties to encourage faster payoff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Transitional Residential Mortgages

Quantifiable outcome

• Default rate of 0.6% over 10 years for Canadian non-conventional mortgages

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation: Atrium is a TSX-listed Canadian mortgage investment corporation focused on residential mortgage lending including alternative and non-conventional borrowers. It shares PrimeWest's core MIC structure and non-prime borrower focus, making it a direct operational peer.
• MCAN Mortgage Corporation: MCAN is one of Canada's largest publicly listed mortgage investment corporations, focused on residential mortgage origination and securitization including non-conventional lending. It is the closest structural and business-model peer to PrimeWest as a public MIC operating in the alternative mortgage space.

Broad incumbents

• Home Trust Company (Home Capital Group): Home Trust is one of Canada's largest alternative mortgage lenders serving borrowers who do not qualify with traditional banks, including new Canadians and self-employed borrowers — segments PrimeWest specifically targeted. It is a broad incumbent in the alternative mortgage category.
• First National Financial Corporation: First National is one of Canada's largest non-bank mortgage lenders, offering residential and commercial mortgage financing including alternative lending through broker networks nationwide. It overlaps with PrimeWest in broker-channel distribution and non-conventional product offerings.
• CMLS Financial: CMLS Financial is a Canadian mortgage lender offering residential and commercial mortgages including alternative and non-conventional lending products. It competes directly with PrimeWest's commercial mortgage product line and serves similar Western Canadian broker channels.
• Equitable Bank: Equitable Bank is a Canadian Schedule I bank specializing in alternative residential mortgages and savings products, serving non-prime, self-employed, and credit-challenged borrowers with overlapping customer profiles to PrimeWest's segments.

Emerging players

• Bridgewater Bank: Bridgewater Bank is a Canadian Schedule I bank focused on alternative residential mortgages for borrowers outside traditional bank criteria, including self-employed and credit-challenged borrowers. It overlaps with PrimeWest's customer segments and product positioning, though with national rather than regional focus.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Prime_West

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PrimeWest Mortgage Investment Corporation