Quarterly profit at Bank of Montreal rose 24%, boosted by a strong performance from its BMO Capital Markets and retail banking units, the bank said Monday.

BMO said net income for the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 was $560 million, or $1.06 a share, up from $452 million, or 87¢ a share, a year earlier when the bank took $227 million in charges for commodities and capital-markets losses.

On a cash basis, which excludes the amortization of intangible assets, the bank said it earned $1.08 a share in the latest period.

BMO said its effective tax rate in the quarter was a recovery rate of 9.2%.

It also said it transferred $2 billion in securities from its trading portfolio to the “available for sale” category, allowing it to avoid $183 million in valuation charges that would have hurt income under previous accounting rules.

BMO did take charges of $45 million, or $27 million after tax, in its BMO Capital Markets and Private Client Group, reflecting a variety of securities and derivatives charges as well as an offer to repurchase U.S. auction rate securities from its clients.

BMO Capital Markets earned $285 million during the quarter, up $239 million from a year ago, reflecting good results in a number of core businesses, the bank said.

In its Canadian retail banking segment, profit rose 19% to $344 million. The bank said domestic revenues improved in personal and commercial banking, and in cards and payment services.

“We have maintained our strong Tier 1 Capital Ratio and earned a return on equity of 14% in the quarter and 13% for the year. These results reflect BMO’s relative strength and stability among global financial institutions,” said Bill Downe, president and CEO, in a release.

IE