(Reuters) – National Bank of Canada posted a lower fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, as the Canadian lender set aside higher provisions in the face of an economic downturn.
The company recorded $87 million in provisions for the three months ended Oct 31, compared to $41 million a year ago.
The Canadian lender’s personal and commercial unit saw net income jump 13% on strong lending as the central bank pumps up interest rates to combat decades-high inflation.
Wealth management pretax, pre-provisions earnings rose 23% from a year earlier, while that of financial markets jumped 10% as higher trading revenue offset a decline in investment banking income from a record quarter a year ago.
The Canadian lender joined Bank of Nova Scotia in reporting a lower profit as fees from advisory and deals tank due to escalating worries of an economic downturn.
National Bank of Canada’s net income, excluding one-off items, fell to C$738 million ($546 million), or C$2.08 per share, in the three months ended Oct 31, from C$776 million, or C$2.19 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of C$2.24 a share, according to Refinitiv data.
($1 = 1.3526 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)