TD Bank quarterly profit jumps on higher rates boost

(Reuters) -Canada’s TD Bank posted a surge in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday as gains from higher interest rates boosted its personal and commercial business and helped offset weakness in underwriting and capital markets.

The lender set aside C$617 million in loan loss provisions, compared to a release of C$123 million a year earlier.

TD Bank joined peers Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada to mark higher funds this year to prepare for potential loan losses as worries of an economic downturn grow.

The bank’s personal and commercial business posted an 11% increase in net income, reflecting higher margins and strong volume growth. U.S. retail jumped 12%.

TD Bank’s results came as a sharp contrast to peers that reported lower quarterly profits for the three months ended Oct as a dearth of deals hurt their capital markets businesses.

Canada’s second-largest lender said net income, excluding one-off items, rose to C$4.07 billion, or C$2.18 per share, from C$3.87 billion, or C$2.09 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected C$2.09 a share, according to Refinitiv data.

Overall net profit was C$6.67 billion, or C$3.62 per share, compared with C$3.78 billion, or C$2.04 per share.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)