Scotiabank, BMO announce third-quarter results
Scotiabank and Bank of Montreal (BMO) announced lower profits in 2024’s third quarter compared to the same time last year as the lending giants continued to stash away higher provisions for potentially souring loans.
Adjusted net income at Scotiabank fell slightly in Q3, coming in at $2.19 billion compared with $2.2 billion 12 months ago, with earnings per (EPS) share on a diluted basis sliding to $1.63 from $1.72.
BMO, meanwhile, posted adjusted net income of $1.98 billion, down from just under $2.15 billion in the third quarter of 2023, as adjusted EPS fell from $2.94 to $2.64.
Amid lingering economic uncertainty and concerns over the stability of the commercial real estate market, BMO announced provisions for credit losses of $906 million, up from $492 million a year prior, while Scotiabank’s overall loan loss provisions topped $1.05 billion compared with $819 million in Q3 2023.
Scotiabank’s Canadian and international banking divisions, as well as its global wealth management arm, all saw adjusted earnings rise year over year, while its global banking and markets unit recorded a 4% dip in earnings.
BMO’s Canadian P&C side posted a slight increase in adjusted net income and the bank posted a significant gain on the capital markets side. Still, its performance in US P&C and wealth management was more muted, recording lower profits in both for the quarter.
The banks become the latest of Canada’s traditional Big Six to post subdued financial results for the quarter, with Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank missing estimates in its Q3 results last week thanks in part to a multibillion-dollar provision for fines related to ongoing money-laundering investigations in the US.
National Bank and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are scheduled to release their third-quarter financials tomorrow morning (August 28), with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) closing out the quarterly announcements on the morning of Thursday, August 29.
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