Scotiabank beats profit estimates on interest income strength, BMO misses

globalnews.ca:

Bank of Montreal (BMO) on Tuesday missed analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit as the lender set aside a larger-than-expected sum of money to cover bad loans in an uncertain economy.

Meanwhile, peer Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) reported a better-than-expected profit as it benefited from higher interest rates that helped it earn more on loans.

In Canada, where big banks dominate the market in lending and personal banking, households have borrowed heavily to buy real estate but face challenges in repaying loans amid higher costs of living.

While higher interest rates have slowed demand for credit, they help bring in more money for banks through their lending activities.

BMO reported adjusted earnings of C$2.56 per share, compared with analysts’ estimate of C$3.02, according to LSEG data. Scotiabank’s earnings of C$1.69 beat estimates by 8 Canadian
cents.

Scotiabank said net interest income (NII), the difference between the interest banks earn on loans and pay out on deposits, rose 4.6%, while at BMO it rose 17%, benefiting from the acquisition of Bank of the West.

Jefferies analyst John Aiken said Scotiabank saw “solid performance on its cost controls” but noted that both its Canada and International units saw declines in their loan portfolios while impaired loans grew.

At BMO, provisions for credit losses (PCLs) grew nearly three-fold, offsetting gains from higher NII. Scotiabank’s
reserves surged about 51%.

BMO’s market-sensitive businesses also took a hit, with net income from its capital markets unit dropping 17% due to weaker trading.

BMO CEO Darryl White said the environment “has constrained revenue growth in market-sensitive businesses in the near term,” but the bank was reducing expenses and “optimizing” its