TD Bank Financial Group raised its quarterly dividend today as it reported a drop in third quarter profit.
The bank said it made $997 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, in the quarter ended July 31. That was off from the profit of $1.1 billion, or $1.51 a share, it reported in the same quarter of last year.
TD said that while its personal and commercial banking operations in both Canada and the United States, and wealth management division, all had good performance in the quarter, its results were dragged down by its wholesale banking division.
The boosted its dividend for the third quarter to 61¢ a share from 58¢ a share.
TD raised its provisions for credit losses by 68% to $288 million.
Overall return on equity, a key profit measure, was 13.4% in the quarter, down from 21% a year earlier.
“Our retail businesses on both sides of the border — which again produced more than 90% of our earnings this quarter — continued to perform very well, providing TD with a solid base of consistent earnings,” said president and CEO Ed Clark in a release.
The bank had previously announced a charge of $96 million in its TD Securities unit because of improperly priced derivatives in its London office, which reduced earnings per share by 8¢.
Adjusted for items including amortization of intangibles and restructuring charges, the bank earned $1.35 per share. This would have been $1.43 without the derivatives charge.
Among TD’s business units, TD Canada Trust, posted an 8% rise in profit to $644 million.
In its U.S. personal and commercial banking unit, which now includes New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp, earnings more than doubled to $244 million.
Adjusted profit was $273 million, excluding charges for restructuring and integrating Commerce Bancorp with TD Banknorth, its U.S. retail bank operation in New England.