However, its earnings report reveals a small dip in residential mortgage loans
Laurentian Bank celebrated a “good start to the year” after reporting strong earnings in the first quarter.
The Montreal-based banking group posted a net income of $44.8 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.96 for the quarter ending January 31, compared with $32.2 million and $0.68 for the first quarter of 2020.
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Meanwhile, revenue stood at $247.4 million in the first quarter, up from $238.7 million during the same period a year earlier.
“I am pleased to report that we had a good start to the year,” said Rania Llewellyn, president and chief executive officer of Laurentian Bank. “Our results were driven by a strong performance in capital market activities, the resumption of growth in commercial banking and our strong cost discipline. We will take the experiences of the past year to propel us forward, as we renew our leadership team and create an organization that is agile, efficient, and above all customer centric.”
As for its loan book, the bank said that commercial loans and acceptances amounted to $13.2 billion for the first quarter, an increase of 3% since October 31, 2020.
However, residential mortgage loans in the first quarter amounted to $16.1 billion – a decrease of $0.2 billion, or 1%, since October 31, 2020.
The bank explained in its earnings report that the “acquisition of mortgage loans from third parties, as part of the bank’s program to optimize the usage of the National Housing Act mortgage-backed securities allocations, has contributed to mitigating the impact of other repayments.”
