TD Bank reports lower profit from year ago, higher provisions for credit losses

TD Bank Group reported a first-quarter profit of $1.58 billion, down from $3.73 billion a year earlier, as it took a number of one-time charges.

TD Bank Group reported a first-quarter profit of $1.58 billion, down from $3.73 billion a year earlier, as it took a number of one-time charges including the cost to settle a lawsuit related to the Stanford Financial Group Ponzi scheme.

The bank said Thursday the profit amounted to 82 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $2.02 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue totalled $12.23 billion, up from $11.28 billion a year earlier.

Provisions for credit losses amounted to $690 million, up from $72 million a year earlier.

TD said its latest quarter included a loss of $876 million in connection with the mitigation of the impact of interest rate volatility related to its deal to buy U.S. bank First Horizon Corp. and a $1.6-billion charge related to the Stanford litigation settlement.

The bank said Monday it would pay to settle a lawsuit for its alleged role in the Ponzi scheme, one of the largest ever orchestrated. In agreeing to the settlement, TD denied any liability or wrongdoing, saying it chose to settle the case to avoid the distraction of a long legal proceeding.

On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $2.23 per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of $2.08 per diluted share in its first quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $2.20 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.