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    Shalabh Garg

    Vice President and Senior Analyst at Veritas Investment Research Corporation

    Shalabh Garg is a Vice President and Senior Analyst at Veritas Investment Research Corporation, specializing in equity research with a primary focus on Canadian financial institutions and insurance companies such as Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Manulife Financial, and Sun Life Financial. He has established a strong reputation for his in-depth sector analysis, with investment calls that have consistently ranked among the industry’s top analysts for accuracy and returns on platforms like TipRanks, where his published recommendations have shown a success rate above 60% and solid return metrics. Garg began his financial analysis career in the late 2000s, previously holding roles at Ernst & Young before joining Veritas Investment Research in 2013, and he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder as well as registered with relevant securities authorities in Canada. His achievements include delivering differentiated insights that have been recognized by institutional clients and contributing to award-winning research teams.

    Shalabh Garg's questions to TORONTO DOMINION BANK (TD) leadership

    Shalabh Garg's questions to TORONTO DOMINION BANK (TD) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg from Veritas Investment Research noted the diverging credit performance between Canadian and U.S. commercial portfolios and asked if this highlighted differences in underwriting standards or other factors.

    Answer

    Ajai Bambawale, Chief Risk Officer, firmly stated that underwriting standards are consistent across the bank and do not change. He clarified that the divergence was in impaired PCLs, with the slight increase in the U.S. driven by a few specific, expected impairments in CRE and C&I, which he does not consider a trend.

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    Shalabh Garg's questions to TORONTO DOMINION BANK (TD) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg from Veritas Investment Research questioned why Canadian commercial credit performance improved while U.S. performance was elevated, despite similar portfolio sizes, asking if it indicated different underwriting standards.

    Answer

    Ajai Bambawale, Chief Risk Officer, asserted that underwriting standards are consistent across geographies. He explained the divergence was due to a few specific impairments in the U.S. commercial portfolio, including CRE, which he does not view as a trend. He noted that directionally, overall PCLs were down in both regions.

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    Shalabh Garg's questions to BANK OF MONTREAL /CAN/ (BMO) leadership

    Shalabh Garg's questions to BANK OF MONTREAL /CAN/ (BMO) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg of Veritas Investment Research asked for an explanation on what drove credit RWA higher despite improving credit performance and stable delinquencies, and what contributed to the decline in the asset size component.

    Answer

    Chief Risk Officer Piyush Agrawal explained that the increase in credit RWA was primarily due to the impact of some remaining negative credit migration, which increases source RWA, even as the pace of that migration has slowed. He did not attribute the movement to any single sector.

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    Shalabh Garg's questions to CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE /CAN/ (CM) leadership

    Shalabh Garg's questions to CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE /CAN/ (CM) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg from Veritas Investment Research Corporation asked about the risk mitigation activities in CIBC's credit card portfolio and whether these actions were linked to the year-over-year decline in reported card fees.

    Answer

    Frank Guse, Senior EVP & Chief Risk Officer, confirmed that risk mitigation strategies are constantly being implemented but are not related to the fee decline. Hratch Panossian, Group Head of Personal & Business Banking, clarified that the fee movement was mostly 'noise' from contra-revenues for loyalty programs and that the underlying portfolio momentum remains strong.

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    Shalabh Garg's questions to CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE /CAN/ (CM) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg inquired about the risk mitigation activities undertaken in CIBC's credit card portfolio and asked if these actions were linked to the year-over-year decline in card fees.

    Answer

    Frank Guse, Chief Risk Officer, confirmed that risk mitigation strategies, such as actions on pre-delinquent clients, have been ongoing for over a year but are not related to fee changes. Hratch Panossian, Head of Personal and Business Banking Canada, explained that the reported decline in card fees was due to 'noise' from contra-revenues like loyalty points programs and does not reflect the underlying strong momentum of the portfolio.

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    Shalabh Garg's questions to CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE /CAN/ (CM) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Shalabh Garg of Veritas Investment Research asked about risk mitigation activities in CIBC's credit card portfolio and whether they were connected to the year-over-year decline in card fees.

    Answer

    Chief Risk Officer Frank Guse confirmed that ongoing risk mitigation actions are in place but are not related to fee performance. Hratch Panossian, Head of Personal and Business Banking Canada, clarified that the decline in card fees was due to 'noise' from items like contra-revenues for loyalty points and was not indicative of a negative trend in the underlying business.

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