Canadian Western Bank is reporting higher profit for the first quarter ended January 31.

The bank said net income in the quarter was $9.9 million, or 68¢ per share, a 5% jump over $9.6 million, or 67¢ per share in the same year-earlier period.

Quarterly revenues rose 8% to $27 million from $26.9 million.

Loans totalled $3.6 billion, up 7% in the past year and unchanged from the previous quarter’s end, the bank said.

“We achieved continued revenue growth and saw our second highest quarterly net income ever, despite the challenge of the low interest rate environment,” stated Larry Pollock, president and CEO of CWB,.

Earlier in March, the bank announced an acquisition of Canadian Direct Insurance, a provider of auto and property coverage with more than 125,000 customers. The deal, scheduled to close in the next few weeks, is expected to “contribute substantially to the bank’s revenues with other income balances expected to increase by more than fifty per cent,” the bank said.