Bank of Montreal today reported a record third-quarter, thanks to volume growth and greater earnings in its personal and commercial banking business.

BMO said net income was $710 million, or $1.38 a share, in the quarter ended July 31.

That’s a 30% increase from $547 million, or $1.07 a share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter increased 6.7% to $2.6 billion from $2.4 billion.

Total interest, dividend and fee income was $3.47 billion during the quarter, up from $2.6 billion in the same period a year before.

Return on equity at the bank rose to 20.3% in the quarter, up from 16.8% a year ago.

“I’m delighted with our performance this quarter and our record net income,” president and CEO Tony Comper said in a news release.

“All of our client operating groups achieved strong year-over-year growth and we’ve continued to invest in strategic initiatives to bolster our future growth.”

The bank’s provision for credit losses dropped to $42 million in the quarter, compared with a $73 million provision a year ago.

Operating income in the bank’s personal and commercial client group rose $69 million, or 22%, to a record $376 million.

In the private client group, operating income was up $22 million, or 35% to $85 million, due to strong revenue growth.

Income in the investment banking group rose $17 million, or 9%, to $201 million, due primarily to higher trading revenue

BMO is the first Canadian bank to report results this quarter.