03:49 PM EST - Canadian Western Bank : said first quarter profit jumped 24 percent due to "excellent" loan growth, but severe west-coast weather sharply cut earnings at its insurance unit, the bank said on Thursday. Edmonton, Alberta-based Canadian Western, the country's seventh-largest bank by market value, said net income in the three months ended January 31 was $20.5 million, or 32 cents a share, in line with analysts' estimates. That compared with a profit of $16.4 million, or 26 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier. Canadian Western Bank
shares T.CWB are trading down 20 cents at $24.00.
