Royal Bank of Canada's Profit Decreases

By Patrick Thomas 

Royal Bank of Canada's profit fell slightly in the fourth quarter, missing Wall Street forecasts.

The bank, based in Toronto, reported net income of 3.21 billion Canadian dollars ($2.41 billion) in the three months that ended Oct. 31, down from roughly C$3.25 billion in the year-prior quarter. Earnings were C$2.18 a share, down from C$2.20 a share a year ago.

The Canadian bank's personal and commercial banking and wealth management businesses grew from a year ago, but income from its insurance unit and treasury investor services fell 11% and 71%, respectively. Income from capital markets declined 12% from a year earlier, driven by lower revenue in corporate and investment banking, the company said.

The bank's credit-loss provision climbed 41% to C$499 million.

Net interest income, or the money that banks make from loans after taking out what they pay customers in interest, was C$5.11 billion, up about 9% from a year earlier. Noninterest income, which comes from categories like insurance premiums and investment management, was C$6.26 billion, up 4%.

Total revenue rose to C$11.37 billion from C$10.67 billion a year earlier. Analysts had expected C$11.63 billion of revenue in the quarter, according to FactSet.

The bank's capital ratio climbed to 12.1% in the fourth quarter from 11.9% in the second quarter and 11.5% the same period a year ago.

Write to Patrick Thomas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 04, 2019 07:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.