Canada's BMO profit misses on higher loan loss provisions; shares sink

By Nivedita Balu and Arasu Kannagi Basil

(Reuters) -Bank of Montreal on Wednesday reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by higher loan loss provisions, and it warned that fewer central bank interest rate cuts could continue to pressure consumers and businesses.

The Canadian lender's shares were down nearly 8% and on track for their worst day in over four years.

The profit miss, the fifth in a row, also reflected weakness in the United States, a focus market where the Canadian lender last year spent $16.3 billion to buy regional player Bank of the West, seeking alternative growth paths as competition intensified in a saturated and highly regulated market at home.

A competitive deposit environment on both sides of the border has forced lenders to offer attractive rates to prevent consumers from fleeing to alternative high-yielding funds.

That environment hurt the U.S. segment's net interest income, or the difference between what a bank earns on loans and pays out for deposits. Adjusted net income at the unit fell 24%.

CEO Darryl White warned that it continues to be a challenging environment for consumers and businesses impacted by prolonged higher interest rates and a slowing economy.

"We now expect somewhat fewer and delayed rate cuts this year in both Canada and the U.S," he said, with the Bank of Canada expected to begin lowering rates this summer and the U.S. Federal Reserve in the fall at a moderated pace.

The series of rate hikes since early 2022 have added to the pressure on customers' mortgages and auto loans while customers also cope with elevated costs of living, forcing lenders to set aside more funds for potentially souring loans.

Overall, loan loss provisions of C$705 million ($515.80 million) topped analysts' estimate of C$563.3 million, according to LSEG data.

A bright spot was BMO's capital markets business, where earnings rose 23% driven by higher interest rate trading and debt and equity issuance activity.

"A tough quarter for BMO," KBW analyst Mike Rizvanovic said, noting the credit losses miss and underwhelming U.S. results were overshadowing an otherwise "roughly in-line quarter."

Meanwhile, smaller peer National Bank of Canada surpassed analysts' estimates for quarterly profit, largely powered by its capital markets and wealth management business, sending its shares up 2.3%.

The capital markets unit, which brings in a third of the income, is expected to get busier in the second half of the year as M&A activity picks up, executives said.

National Bank earned C$2.54 per share, topping the average estimate of C$2.45.

BMO's adjusted net income of C$2.59 per share, was well below the average estimate of C$2.77.

($1 = 1.3668 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru and Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Sriraj Kalluvila and Leslie Adler)

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