Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
National Bank of Canada , the country's sixth largest chartered bank, said first quarter profit more than tripled.
Earnings rose to $215-million from $69-million in the year-earlier quarter.
The results from both quarters were skewed by the bank's involvement in the asset-backed commercial paper mess. In the most recent quarter, profit suffered because of a $75-million penalty the bank had to pay to regulators for its role in the ABCP situation. A year ago, the bank recorded a $184-million charge for its holdings of ABCP.
After all the extraordinary items are backed out, the bank recorded a 6-per-cent increase in net income to $268-million as its trading business thrived and it eked out more earnings on personal and commercial lending.
The bank made more consumer loans, which helped offset lower interest-rate margins and a $9-million increase in provisions for sour loans.
The bank said it had a Tier 1 capital ratio, measured by regulators to determine a bank's strength, at 12.5 per cent, up from 10.7 per cent a year ago.