Canada Bank Earnings Prove “Big Five” Are Still Strong And Viable Employers
Canadian banks may be facing new pressures from rating agencies and to fundamental business units including capital markets, but newly posted third-quarter profits from Canada’s top five banks prove that these financial giants are still great places to work, says a Toronto-based recruiter.
Fitch Ratings had warned that Canadian banks will come under increased pressure as revenues from key businesses including capital markets start to decline over coming quarters.
The rating agency said it also expects high consumer debt levels, primarily from mortgage borrowing combined with broad-based margin pressure, to weigh heavily on big banks’ financial results going forward.“We expect retail loan growth to decelerate in the second half of 2012 as the housing market cools and new regulations aimed at curbing residential lending take effect,” Fitch said.
Nevertheless, the big-five Canadian banks “left analysts’ restrained predictions in the dust,” the Canadian Press reported “marking a [combined] increase of 45 per cent from net income of $5.38 billion a year ago.”
“This says to me that Canadian banks are still world class and extremely well run,” says Janice Detta Colli, managing director for recruiter Boyden Toronto.
“Canadian banks are a great place to work, learn and develop so the results bode well for employees at all levels. At the senior executive level, they can take great pride in continuing to lead through challenging times and to continue to motivate their teams to produce results.
“The banks have continued to focus on carefully evaluating risks, “ says Detta Colli, “building their book of business in a controlled fashion and hiring and retaining great talent to lead them into the next fiscal year. “
Moreover, says Detta Colli, who is also head of the Canadian Financial Services Practice at Boyden Toronto, “ Canadian banks are organizations where an individual can have a very rewarding career with an array of responsibilities crossing a wide cross section of business lines.
“In Canada, the banks are still an employer of choice,” she tells eFinancialCareers.
Earnings highlights from the third quarter include the following:
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce profit rose by 42 per cent in the quarter to C$841 million, or $2 per share, compared with $591 million, or $1.33 a share, for the same period last year. The bank also announced a quarterly dividend increase of four cents or 4.4 per cent per share.
• Bank of Montreal posted net income at BMO of C$970 million or $1.42 per share, an increase from $708 million, or $1.09 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings of $1.01 billion, or $1.49 per share, beating analyst expectations by 10 cents a share. BMOraised its dividend for the first time since 2007, boosting it 2.8 per cent to 72 cents a share, on profits of $970 million.
• Scotiabank posted a record profit of 2.05 billion Canadian dollars or C$1.69 a share, on a large gain from selling its iconic Scotia Plaza headquarters in Toronto. A year earlier, it earned C$1.30 billion, or C$1.10 a share.
