Canadian Western Bank today reported at 14% rise in profit for the second quarter ended April 30.

Net income for the quarter was $25.3 million, or 40¢ a shares. That compares with $22.2 million, or 36¢ a share, for the year ago period.

Revenue rose to $72.4 million for the quarter, compared with $65.5 million a year ago.

The bank says strong loan growth of 3% in the quarter and 21% over the past twelve months pushed total assets to a new benchmark of more than $10 billion.

Growth in total revenues and earnings continued to be constrained by a lower net interest margin resulting from increased deposit costs related to ongoing market turmoil, reductions in the prime-lending rate and higher liquidity levels maintained in response to events in financial markets.

Second quarter return on equity was16.1%, down 70 basis points compared to the same quarter last year mainly reflecting a lower net interest margin.

Both of CWB’s operating segments performed well in the second quarter. Banking and trust earnings of $23.1 million increased 18% over the same period last year, with continued strong loan growth and fee income, including gains on securities sales, more than offsetting the impact of a lower net interest margin.

Quarterly net income from insurance operations of $2.2 million was down $0.4 million compared to one-year ago mainly due to a lower contribution from the Alberta auto risk sharing pools.

“CWB posted impressive quarterly results in a period that continued to be impacted by turmoil in global financial markets and slower economic activity in some areas” stated Larry Pollock, president and CEO, in a release. “The fallout of these events is mainly reflected in our compressed net interest margin, which is apparent industry-wide.”

CWB’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of
11¢ per common share. This quarterly dividend represents a 10% increase over the previous quarterly dividend and is 22% higher than the quarterly dividend declared one year ago.