Scotiabank (BNS) has reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $2.16 billion, down 22% from $2.75 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue at Scotiabank, also known as Bank of Nova Scotia, totalled $7.93 billion, down only slightly from $7.94 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Scotiabank blamed the profit decline on enhanced loan loss provisions, which totalled $709 million in fiscal Q2, up 224% from $219 million a year earlier.
Scotiabank said its Canadian banking division earned $1.06 billion in net income, down 10% from $1.18 billion in the same quarter of 2022.
International banking operations earned net income of $642 million, up 6% from $605 million a year earlier.
The bank’s global wealth management division, global banking and markets group, and “other category” each reported declines in the latest quarter.
The “other category” at Scotiabank reported a loss for fiscal Q2 of -$323 million compared with a loss of -$10 million a year earlier.
Along with its latest earnings, Scotiabank announced that it is raising its quarterly dividend payment to shareholders by 3%, matching the increase that Bank of Montreal (BMO) announced with its latest earnings report.
Scotiabank said it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, up from $1.03 per share previously.
Scotiabank’s stock has declined 22% in the last 12 months to trade at $65.66 per share.
