By Robb M. Stewart

National Bank of Canada turned in a stronger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter thanks to higher revenue across its business units and a boost from last year's takeover of Great Western Bank.

Net income increased to 1.25 billion Canadian dollars (US$915.4 million), or C$3.08 a share, for the first fiscal quarter from C$997 million, or C$2.78, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis that excludes certain items, per-share earnings rose to C$3.25 for the three months to Jan. 31, beating the C$2.99 mean estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

The bank's overall revenue jumped 22% for the quarter to C$3.89 billion, topping the C$3.74 billion expected by analysts.

Revenue in National Bank's personal and commercial division was up 27% to C$1.53 billion, thanks to the addition of Great Western Bank's operations. Wealth management revenue was up 16% from the prior year, with growth in fee-based income, while capital markets revenue rose 9%, largely due to growth in corporate and investment banking revenues. U.S. specialty finance and international revenue was up 7%.

The Montreal-based bank recorded C$244 million in provisions for credit losses in the latest period, versus C$254 million a year earlier. That was broadly in line with the roughly C$240 million analysts had anticipated.

Canada's sixth-largest lender has in the last couple of years moved to beef up its operations in Canada.

In December, it struck a deal that would see it expand in Quebec with the purchase of the retail and small business operations of Laurentian Bank of Canada for roughly book value as part of a breakup of the smaller lender. That deal is expected to close late in 2026. A year ago, National Bank completed the C$5.3 billion takeover of Canadian Western Bank, significantly extending its footprint in Alberta and British Columbia from what had largely been a focus on Quebec.

National Bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.7% at the end of January, well above the measure of at least 11.5% of total risk-weighted assets required of Canada's six biggest lenders by the country's banking regulator.

The bank said its board has authorized a increase in the total number of shares that can be repurchased under its buyback program to 14.5 million, representing 3.7% of the total issued and outstanding. The normal course issuer bid was launched in late September, allowing for the purchase and cancellation of up to 8 million shares. The program is set to expire Sept. 24.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

National Bank of Canada acquired Canadian Western Bank last year. "National Bank Quarterly Earnings Buoyed by Last Year's Great Western Bank Acquisition," at 7:11 a.m. ET, incorrectly said Great Western Bank was acquired.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 25, 2026 14:07 ET (19:07 GMT)

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