BMO, Scotiabank are putting aside more money for loans that could go bad

Bank of Montreal and Scotiabank kicked off Canada bank earnings with lower profit than a year ago. Both banks raised their dividends Wednesday.

BMO Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend as its second-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago and its provisions for credit losses climbed higher.

The bank said Wednesday it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, up from $1.43 per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as BMO reported a profit of $1.06 billion of $1.30 per share for the quarter ended April 30, down from a profit of $4.76 billion or $7.13 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $8.44 billion, down from $9.32 billion in the same quarter last year, while the bank’s provision for credit losses amounted to $1.02 billion, up from $50 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BMO says it earned $2.93 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $3.23 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of $3.19 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

“Our performance this quarter reflects our highly diversified business mix and the strength, size and stability of our balance sheet, which has been further enhanced by the successful acquisition of Bank of the West,” BMO chief executive Darryl White said in a statement.

BMO completed its deal to buy California-based Bank of the West on Feb. 1.