Second-quarter profit at National Bank of Canada jumped 46% helped by a strong performance from its financial markets division, the bank said Thursday.

The Montreal-based bank earned $241 million or $1.41 a share, for the second quarter ended April 30. That compared with a net income of $165 million, or $1 a share, a year earlier.

Return on equity, a key measure of profitability was 18.5%.

Excluding items related the holding of asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP), the bank earned $261 million, or $1.53 during the quarter, up from $229 million, or $1.41 for the same time a year ago.

The $20 million in after-tax charges related to holding ABCP and consisted mainly of losses on economic hedge transactions, the bank said.

“The bank has managed to do well thanks to the relatively good performance of the Quebec economy,” said Louis Vachon, president and CEO, in release.

The bank’s personal and commercial segment contributed $222 million in the second quarter of 2009, an increase of $4 million from the same quarter of 2008.

Net income for the wealth management segment totalled $32 million in the second quarter of 2009, down $6 million from $38 million in the same quarter of 2008.

“The wealth management segment was affected by a decline in assets under management but continued to successfully implement the centralization and integration plan for several of its business units,” Vachon said.

The financial markets segment posted net income of $123 million in the second quarter of 2009, up $41 million from the same quarter of 2008.

“The financial markets segment showed excellent performance across most of its activities, especially in fixed-income securities transactions,” Vachon added.

IE