Royal Bank of Canada today reported a fourth quarter profit of $1.32 billion as its Canadian retail banking operation helped overcome some hits from its exposure to shaky credit markets.

The bank said it made $1.01 a share in quarter ended October 31. In the same quarter of last year, RBC profit was $1.26 billion, or 96¢ a share.

Revenue in the quarter increased to $5.62 billion from $5.35 billion.

The bank took an after-tax charge of $160 million in its capital markets division to cover writedowns of the values of its holdings of U.S. subprime residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations of asset-backed securities

The also recorded a $269 million after-tax gain from the exchange of its membership interest in Visa Canada Association for shares of Visa Inc.

RBC said its Canadian banking operation contributed $899 million in net income, up 33% over last year.

The bank’s wealth management net income was $180 million, up 10% over last year, though the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar reduced earnings by 4%.

Profits at RBC’s U.S. and international banking group fell 73% over last year to $21 million in the fourth quarter, primarily due to the deterioration in the U.S. housing market. The deterioration forced the bank to take higher provisions for bad loans.

For the full year, RBC reported a profit of $5.49 billion, or $4.19 a share, on revenue of $22.46 billion. The profit was up 16% over 2006, while the bank’s full-year revenue was up 9%.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2007/30/c6119.html