TORONTO, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Sun Life Financial <SLF.TO>
said on Thursday quarterly profit more than doubled, aided by
stock market gains and improved sales, but the results came in
below market expectations.

Sun Life said net income surged to C$296 million ($279
million), or 52 Canadian cents a share, in the fourth quarter,
below the 65 Canadian cents a share expected by analysts,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

TORONTO, Feb 9 (Reuters) – After a volatile year, Canada’s
big life insurance companies are expected to report higher
fourth-quarter profits this week, boosted by stock market gains
and a brighter economic outlook.

The big insurers — Manulife Financial Corp <MFC.TO>, Great
West Lifeco <GWO.TO>, and Sun Life Financial <SLF.TO> — are
emerging from the financial crisis with an eye once again on
growth, though analysts warn they will continue to tweak
accounting details to reflect 2009′s market volatility.

TORONTO, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Canadian housing starts rose by
a larger than expected 5.8 percent in January, the fourth
straight monthly gain, offering further proof of housing’s
strength in an otherwise tepid economy.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of
186,300 units from an upwardly revised 176,100 units in
December, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Monday.

TORONTO, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Strong investment banking gains
drove Canaccord Financial Inc <CF.TO> to an unexpectedly strong
profit in the third quarter, and market attention turned to its
reported bid to buy rival Genuity.

The Vancouver-based investment dealer, which changed its
name from Canaccord Capital in December in a rebranding effort,
declined to comment on a rumored bid for Genuity, but said it
“can and will do” more to build on its global platform.

TORONTO, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The heads of Canada’s four
largest banks said on Thursday they remain focused on capital
conservation because of uncertainty over global regulatory
changes and the riskiness of making acquisitions.

Gord Nixon, chief executive of Royal Bank of Canada
<RY.TO>, the nation’s biggest bank, and Ed Clark, chief
executive of Toronto Dominion Bank <TD.TO>, the No. 2 bank,
both said Canadian banks have strong capital levels compared
with global rivals, but that there is no rush to spend it on
acquisitions.

TORONTO, Dec 16 (Reuters) – When the Bank of Canada warned
Canadians last week about household indebtedness, observers saw
it as a cautionary rebuke to spendthrift consumers.

Mostly overlooked was an equally strong warning to Canada’s
big lenders, which may face rising credit losses next year when
many expect interest rates to rise. [ID:nN10171691]

TORONTO, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Bank of Nova Scotia <BNS.TO>
said on Tuesday quarterly profit surged, but its shares dropped
after a string of strong results from rival banks last week led
analysts to ratchet up expectations for Canada’s No. 3 lender.

Scotiabank said domestic and international banking profits
climbed in its fiscal fourth quarter and capital markets
surged, offsetting a rise in the amount of money set aside to
cover bad loans.

TORONTO, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Canada <RY.TO>
said on Friday that quarterly profit rose 10 percent as strong
domestic banking offset losses in its big U.S. operations, but
the results were not as impressive as rivals have reported.

“The results were solid, as one would expect from Royal,
but the problem being that several of its competitors reported
quarters which stood out much more,” Barclays Capital analyst
John Aiken said in a note to clients.

TORONTO, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Two of Canada’s big banks
reported stronger-than-expected profits on Thursday to end the
year in far better shape than many global rivals, but investors
said it was too early to to say credit woes were behind the
banks given the frailty of the economic recovery.

Toronto Dominion Bank <TD.TO>, Canada’s second-largest
lender, said profit after one-time items nearly doubled in its
fourth quarter, handily beating expectations, while rival
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce <CM.TO> saw a 48 percent
jump in income, well above expectations.

TORONTO, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Bank of Montreal <BMO.TO>
reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday and
said it was buying the Diners Club North America credit card
business to double its corporate card portfolio.

The deal, combined with a 16 percent rise in quarterly
earnings, emphasizes the relative strength of Canada’s big
lenders as they emerge from the financial crisis with excess
capital and solid balance sheets.