© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A sign for the The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is pictured, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June 2, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
By Nivedita Balu and Mehnaz Yasmin
(Reuters) -Canada’s TD Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce on Thursday beat analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit, driven by strong loan volumes and growth in deposits at home.
The results mirror similar better than expected first-quarter earnings reported earlier this week by rivals Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia and National Bank of Canada (OTC:).
Improved loan volumes and margins in the first quarter fuelled a 10% jump in earnings at CIBC’s Canadian banking unit, and a 3% growth in profit at TD Bank’s Canadian personal and commercial unit.
Still, TD and CIBC, like other banks, built up their reserves to stay protected during uncertain times as elevated interest rates have left Canadians with shrunken wallets and struggling to repay their mortgages and credit card bills.
CIBC built C$585 million ($432 million) in provisions, C$290 million higher than last year, while TD Bank’s provision for credit losses rose to C$1 billion from C$690 million a year earlier.
Excluding one-time charges, CIBC reported profit per share of C$1.81 while TD earned C$2 per share, trouncing analysts’ average estimates of C$1.66 and C$1.89 respectively, according to LSEG data.
CIBC’s shares rose 1% while TD’s shares were up marginally.
“There is very little to critique in the results,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Darko Mihelic said on CIBC’s results, but noted TD’s U.S. retail banking and capital markets segments were weaker than expected.
Exposure to the United States also led TD to cough up $310 million while CIBC paid $67 million in the quarter – a one-time special assessment fee to replenish the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) $16 billion hole following the collapse of two U.S. regional banks.
U.S. CHALLENGES
Canadian banks have for years sought growth outside a highly saturated and regulated market at home, leading them to invest heavily south of the border.
But challenges in the United States are mounting after New York Community Bancorp (NYSE:)’s woes related to its commercial real estate exposure reignited fears around regional banks.
CIBC’s U.S. commercial banking and wealth management unit posted a net loss of C$9 million for the first quarter, hurt by exposure to commercial real estate.
Executives told analysts a majority of the office portfolio’s issues were well provisioned and expect impairment levels to be lower in the quarters ahead.
Earnings from TD’s U.S. retail bank unit, which operates over 1,000 branches in 16 states on the east coat, plunged 43%.
“The US performance is in line with the industry… We were also impacted by PCL normalization from very low level last year,” TD’s finance chief Kelvin Tran said in an interview.
However, Tran said the bank is focused on its U.S. expansion strategy despite the speed bumps.
“We continue to make investments in key products like credit cards… We continue to add advisors to our wealth businesses, it is critically important during these challenging times,” he said.
TD’s rapid U.S. expansion hit a snag with the bank organically expanding on the east coast after it pulled out of its acquisition of regional lender First Horizon (NYSE:) following a long wait for regulatory approvals.
The bank shortly after said it was being probed by the U.S. Justice Department about its compliance with anti-money-laundering rules and expects a monetary fine.
“We believe the single biggest issue affecting TD is its U.S. AML-related issues and there was no information provided this quarter on this front,” RBC analyst Mihelic said.
($1 = 1.3557 Canadian dollars)
