Global bank earnings: TD Bank's AML provisions, BMO's loan challenge

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Earnings season has come to a close, and results have shown that executives of internationally-based banks were not exempt from the same challenges facing their peers in the U.S.

Similar to Citigroup's deal with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to abide by two prior consent orders, TD Bank Group was plagued by a spate of anti-money-laundering failures that drew the ire of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Provisions to account for roughly $3 billion in regulatory fines combined with lowered deposit margins and loan demand counteracted revenue from the Toronto-based bank's American operations — leading to its first quarterly net loss since the fourth quarter of 2002.

Read more: TD Bank sets aside $2.6 billion more for AML woes

Credit losses also impacted bank earnings across all asset classes.

Last quarter, the Montreal-based BMO Financial Group roughly doubled its provisions for credit losses when compared to the same period last year to CA$906 million. For the quarter that ended July 31, net income was up from CA$1.56 billion a year earlier, to CA$1.87 billion.

"We freely admit that we may be closing the barn door after the animals have escaped, the pace of deterioration in credit and BMO's relative over-exposure to commercial infer ongoing pressure to the bank's earnings," Jefferies analyst John Aiken said in a statement. "While we remain positive on the longer-term outlook for its U.S. operations, near-term outperformance over our forecast period has become increasingly difficult."

Changing consumer appetites have also impacted the Bank of Nova Scotia, which similarly upped its cash provisions for covering potentially distraught loans in the third quarter and saw its net income fall to CA$1.88 billion.

Read more: New data on credit card losses add to evidence of 'soft landing'

Below are examples of American Banker insight into earnings for international banks that operate in the U.S. and how they performed.

RBC / City National Bank
Bloomberg/Adobe Stock

RBC holds off on further U.S. bank purchases

As Royal Bank of Canada tries to mend the damage caused by its last major U.S. acquisition, the Toronto-based company isn't looking to buy another big bank on this side of the border.

Chief Executive Dave McKay pledged caution on Aug. 28 about possible future deals for U.S. banks, even though the Canadian company is building capital, and McKay sounded open to using at least some of that capital in the M&A market.

"I would say it's a very high bar to clear," McKay said in response to a question about the potential for large U.S. deals. "So you need a stable market and a stable set of rules to invest in, and we don't have that yet in the U.S."

Read more: Why RBC isn't eager to acquire another U.S. bank
City National Bank
Daniel Wolfe

City National shows early signs of recovery in planned revamp

The turnaround effort at beleaguered City National Bank is on track but nowhere near complete, executives at its Canadian parent company indicated on May 30, suggesting that more downsizing is likely on the horizon.

The Los Angeles-based unit of Royal Bank of Canada reported its strongest quarter in more than a year, but executives warned of bumpiness ahead.

"Looking forward, our efforts to enhance expense and capital efficiency, and deepen client relationships, should allow City National to achieve more normalized profitability as we exit 2025," Katherine Gibson, RBC's interim chief financial officer, said during a call with analysts.

Read more: City National shows progress, offers 18-month timeline for turnaround
TD Bank
Della Rollins/Bloomberg

The $3 billion AML elephant weighing down TD Bank earnings

TD Bank Group's anti-money-laundering failures led to a loss in the third quarter as it took provisions to manage potentially $3 billion in regulatory fines, and its big plans for growth in the U.S. aren't buoying earnings.

The Toronto-based bank set aside $2.6 billion last quarter, while lower deposit volumes and loan margins tamped down on revenue from its American business, the bank said Aug. 22. 

TD reported a loss of 14 Canadian cents a share in the three months that ended July 31, compared with a profit of CA$1.53 a share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts polled by S&P had expected earnings per share of CA$1.95.

Read more: TD Bank's AML failures, tepid U.S. business hamper profits
BMO
Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg

BMO’s loan loss anticipation impacts Q3 earnings

BMO Financial Group socked away higher-than-expected provisions for potential loan losses in the third quarter, dragging down earnings, while its Canadian business offered some revenue relief.

The Toronto-based bank said on Aug. 27 that provisions for credit losses nearly doubled last quarter from the year-ago period, hitting CA$906 million. Net income for the latest quarter, which ended July 31, was up at CA$1.87 billion from CA$1.56 billion a year ago, buttressed by BMO's consumer and commercial banking in Canada. 

CEO Darryl White said BMO hasn't yet topped out on credit costs, which also hampered earnings last quarter.

Read more: BMO's preparation for loan losses hamstrings earnings
scotiabank
Ronald Patrick/Bloomberg

Scotiabank’s profits weighed down by Canada, Latin America markets

The Bank of Nova Scotia's third-quarter profit slid as the Canadian lender set aside money to cover potentially troubled loans, but executives pointed to signs that consumer health is stabilizing.

Toronto-based Scotiabank, which recently announced an expansion in the U.S., reported Aug. 27 that its net income fell to CA$1.88 billion in the quarter that ended July 31, down from CA$2.17 billion a year earlier. 

The decline follows tepid economic growth in Canada, where consumers have pulled back more than in the U.S. and unemployment has risen quicker. 

Read more: Scotiabank's profit slumps as consumer stress builds in Canada, Latin America
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