Bank of Montreal reports strong Q2 earnings, marks fifth consecutive quarterly increase in profit

One of Canada’s top five banks today, the Bank of Montreal, posted earnings for the second quarter of 2010.

The bank reported higher than expected earnings as provisions for bad debts declined significantly.

The bank said total bad loan expenses in the period were $249-million, down from $372-million in the same period last year.

Aggregately, the Bank of Montreal reported net earnings of $745-million ($1.26 per share) in the period, marking the fifth straight quarterly increase in both revenue and net income. This compares with $387-million in net income in the second quarter of last year, an increase of almost 50-percent.

 Return on Equity (ROE) was significantly up to 16.4-percent, compared to 8.1-percent in the same period last year.

The capital market unit helped contribute to the strong earnings, earning $259-million in net earnings, up almost 40-percent from Q2 ’09.

BMO President and CEO Mr. Downe said today in a statement, “Our results confirm that we are successfully executing the customer-focused strategy we laid out three years ago. Our financial strength is giving us the flexibility to attract top talent and customers and expand our North American presence, while delivering strong results,”

The other top Canadian banks are expected to report their respective second quarter earnings within the next two weeks.