Equity Financial Recognized as a Great Place to Work(R)

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 19, 2012) - Equity Financial Holdings Inc. (TSX:EQI) Equity Financial* has been recognized as one of this year's Best Workplaces in Canada.

Equity Financial is proud to be a recipient of Best Workplaces in Canada. We strongly believe our success is based on one singular factor - our people.

Since 2004, the company has experienced phenomenal growth from 18 to 125 employees. We have assembled a strong, experienced team dedicated to a customer service culture and operational excellence. Our innovative culture and corporate values have allowed us to hire and cultivate a motivated and engaged workforce.

"On behalf of Equity's employees, I am honoured to accept this prestigious award. Our company's success is due entirely to our innovative culture of continual learning, client-focused service and camaraderie. All of Equity's employees should be proud of the company they've built," said Paul G. Smith, President and CEO of Equity Financial.

This list of "Best Workplaces in Canada" is compiled by Great Place to Work^® Institute Canada. The competition process is based on two criteria: two-thirds of the total score comes from results of an employee survey; the remaining one-third of the score comes from an in-depth review of the organization's culture, including an evaluation of HR policies and procedures. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective, and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together, they provide crucial data relative to the five trust-building dimensions of a Great Place to Work^®: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

This year's list received over 230 nominations and over 49,000 employees participated in the 2012 "Best Workplaces in Canada" survey.

About Equity Financial: Equity Financial is a Canadian company serving corporate, institutional and retail clients. The company provides stock transfer, corporate trust, mortgage, deposit-taking, foreign exchange, corporate secretarial and compliance services through the Equity Group of Companies. Equity Financial has approximately 700 issuer clients across Canada. Since 2005, the company's issuer client base has grown by more than 80 per cent-four times faster than the estimated growth in TMX listings. Equity Financial acted as a depositary for $13 billion in cash M&A transactions, marking 2011 as the most successful year to date. Equity operates throughout Canada with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montréal.

About the Great Place to Work^® Institute: Great Place to Work® Institute is a global research and management consultancy with expertise on workplace transformation and a presence in 46 countries worldwide. Our mission is to improve society by creating better workplaces. We are best-known for our global Best Workplaces Programme, which we produce in conjunction with prestigious media partners such as the Globe and Mail, the Financial Times and Fortune. With more than 5,500 organizations surveyed every year across the globe, the programme is the world's largest of its kind. We believe passionately that any company or organization can become a great place to work. Our mission is to help you do it.

*Transfer agent, trust, and mortgage services are provided by Equity Financial Trust Company; foreign exchange services are provided by Equity Financial FX Inc. and compliance and filing services are provided by Equity Corporate Services Inc. Mortgage and deposit taking services are only provided in Ontario. Equity Financial FX Services are not available in Québec.