The personal & commercial banking arm of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has posted a net income of C$1.29bn for the second quarter of fiscal 2016, a rise of C$97m or 8% compared to a year ago.
Net income in Canadian Banking stood at C$1.24bn, up C$50m or 4% from the prior year. The bank attributed the rise in come to solid volume growth of 6% in most businesses, the positive impact of one additional day in February, as well as fee-based revenue growth, partially offset by higher PCL and lower spreads.
Caribbean & US Banking registered a net income of C$56m, an increase of $47m from a year earlier, owing to fee-based revenue growth and lower provisions in the Caribbean portfolio.
The previous year also included a loss of $23m (before- and after-tax) related to sale of RBC Royal Bank (Suriname), the bank said in its earnings statement.
Overall, the banking group reported net income of C$2.57bn for the second quarter of fiscal 2016, up 3% from C$2.50bn in the prior year.
RBC president and CEO Dave McKay said: "We delivered a solid quarter, with earnings of over $2.5 billion, reflecting underlying strength across our businesses. I’m very pleased with our performance in the first half of the year with earnings of over $5 billion, particularly in the context of a challenging operating environment.
"Underpinned by our culture and commitment to putting clients first, RBC continues to be well positioned going forward given the strength of our diversified business model, our prudent risk management and our ability to effectively manage costs."