Can you believe this?

The Royal Bank has made more than $1.6 Million A DAY over the last 90 days



Royal Bank profit rises 35 per cent

Tara Perkins

Royal Bank of Canada , the country's largest bank, reported a first-quarter profit of $1.5-billion Wednesday, up 35 per cent from a year ago.

That's the bank's second-highest quarterly profit ever, further justifying Ottawa's decision to begin scaling back the support programs it had established for the country's banks during the height of the crisis in late 2008. (Royal Bank's largest profit came in the third quarter of 2009, when it earned $1.56-billion).

The bank's cash earnings amounted to $1.03 per share, slightly shy of the consensus estimate of analysts, who forecast profits of $1.04 per share.

“We continue to see signs of improvement in market and economic conditions and we are taking advantage of opportunities,” chief executive officer Gordon Nixon stated.

The biggest contributor to the bank's bottom line is its Canadian business and consumer lending business, which earned $777-million this quarter, up 12 per cent from a year ago, despite putting aside more money for troubled loans.

RBC's international banking business narrowed its loss to $57-million, compared to $100-million a year ago, as it actually set aside less money for soured loans.

“We continue to see signs of improvement in our U.S. banking loan portfolio and we are working hard to restructure the business to improve client service and achieve greater operational efficiency,” Mr. Nixon said.

While Royal Bank's results show lower than expected provisions for troubled loans, in line with the three other Canadian banks that have reported so far, RBC was the first not to top analysts' expectations for profits.

“With expectations likely raised by the results of the previous three banks, we cannot help but believe the market will be disappointed by these results,” said Barclays Capital analyst John Aiken.