National Bank of Canada

topped expectations as first-quarter profit rose more than 20 per cent compared with a year ago.

National Bank of Canada topped expectations as it reported its first-quarter profit rose more than 20 per cent compared with a year ago, boosted by growth across its business.

Profits were up eight per cent year-over-year in the personal and commercial banking business, up 20 per cent in the wealth management business, up 37 per cent in the financial markets business, and up 60 per cent in the U.S. specialty finance and international business, the Montreal-based bank said in its quarterly report on Wednesday.

Provisions for credit losses totalled $81 million, down from $89 million a year earlier. But chief executive Louis Vachon said in a statement that the bank is still maintaining “significant reserves for credit losses.”

National Bank is one of four big Canadian lenders this week to report better-than-expected profit growth during the latest quarter, alongside BMO, RBC and Scotiabank.

Overall, National Bank earned net income of $761 million or $2.15 per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $610 million or $1.67 per diluted share a year ago.

Excluding specified items, National Bank says it earned $2.15 per diluted share, up from $1.70 per diluted share a year ago. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.71 per share, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

Maria-Gabriella Khoury, senior vice-president covering North American financial institutions at DBRS Morningstar, said that National Bank was among the strongest big Canadian banks to report quarterly results so far.