TORONTO: Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) on Wednesday reported a 5 percent increase in underlying third-quarter net income, helped by double-digit growth at its wealth management business which offset a weaker showing in capital markets. Net income at Canada’s biggest lender, excluding one-off items such as costs of integrating U.S.-based City National, bought in November 2015, rose to C$2.8 billion ($2.2 billion) for the quarter to June 30. Earnings per share also excluding one-off items reached C$1.89 compared with an average analyst forecast of C$1.87, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data. Net income at RBC’s retail banking division grew by 6 percent to C$1.4 billion, while net income in wealth management increased by 25 percent to C$486 million, including a first-time contribution from City National.
RBC said net income from its capital markets business fell 4 percent to C$611 million. The bank reported a decline in fixed income activity, reflecting less volatility in the market. The bank announced a 5 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to C$0.91 per share. Its core Tier 1 ratio, a key measure of a bank’s financial strength, increased by 30 basis points to 10.9 percent. RBC is the first of Canada’s biggest banks to report quarterly results. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) is due to report on Thursday, followed by Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) next week.
