Royal Bank of Canada posted a record quarterly profit on Thursday, with adjusted net income rising 10% year-over-year to $6.1 billion in the fiscal third quarter. The bank’s adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 11% to $4.28, while adjusted return on equity climbed to 18.1%, up 40 basis points from a year ago.
Pre-provision, pre-tax earnings reached a record $8.7 billion, a 13% increase from the prior year. Total provisions for credit losses rose 14% to $1.0 billion, pushing the PCL on loans ratio to 36 basis points, though the bank’s CET1 ratio remained steady at 13.5%, above regulatory requirements.
Segment performance showed strong gains in wealth management and capital markets. Wealth management net income surged 32% to $1.44 billion, driven by higher fee-based client assets and net sales. Capital markets net income rose 16% to $1.54 billion, supported by equity and debt origination, M&A activity, and equity trading revenue, partially offset by higher provisions. Commercial banking net income increased 12% to $936 million on deposit and loan volume growth, while personal banking net income edged down 1% to $1.92 billion as non-interest expenses outpaced volume gains.
Insurance net income fell 20% to $197 million due to weaker claims experience and the absence of prior-period adjustments. The bank returned $4.0 billion to shareholders through $1.6 billion in buybacks and $2.4 billion in dividends, while its liquidity coverage ratio dipped slightly to 125% and net stable funding ratio improved to 112%.
