'Healthy earnings': Portfolio manager reacts to RBC, National Bank Q1 results

First-quarter earnings season for Canada’s largest banks continued on Wednesday, with the Royal Bank of Canada and National Bank each beating analyst expectations, as an expert says the results bode well for the financial sector.

Nate Thooft, chief investment officer and senior portfolio manager at Manulife Investment Management, told BNN Bloomberg that despite concerns Canadian banks may struggle to meet the mark amid a weakened economy, results have been mostly positive so far.

“We’re quite a ways through earnings for the big banks in Canada and overall… we’re expecting around eight to 10 per cent (year-over-year) increases for earnings,” he said in a Wednesday interview.

“Given all the headline risk you hear about banks; the economy being weak, loan-provision losses going up, the health of the consumer may be deteriorating… you still are seeing pretty healthy earnings in general.”