Although financial services companies did well in the first quarter of 2006 over the same period a year earlier, they are facing some hurdles in the form of climbing interest rates, recent declines in equity markets and competitive pressures in property and casualty insurance.

Bank loan-loss provisions remain low but could climb as higher rates bite. If equities continue to weaken, mutual fund and investment companies could be hurt. And some P&C insurers could be tempted to lower underwriting standards to increase volumes.

Still, for the first quarter of 2006, the average increase in net income for the 49 companies surveyed by Investment Executive was 17.7%. (That excludes Great-West Lifeco Inc., Northbridge Financial Corp., BluMont Capital Corp., IGM Financial Inc. and Cunningham Lindsey Group Inc. , whose results are consolidated with their corporate parents.) All sectors except for the holding companies gained; only nine of the 49 firms saw profit decline and just four reported a loss. (Earnings exclude unusual or non-recurring items that are not part of normal business.)

There were, however, a few big names among those who saw lower profits: CI Financial Inc., Desjardins Group and Kingsway Financial Services Inc.

CI’s net income was down 10% in the quarter ended Feb. 28, vs the same period a year ago. This was because the rise in the CI stock price tripled stock-based compensation to $18 million after taxes, from $5.8 million.

Following GMP Capital Trust’s example, CI’s shareholders have approved converting the company to an income trust. Note that Sun Life Financial Corp.’s agreement to limit its ownership of CI to 34% expires July 25.

As for Desjardins Group, only its securities dealer, asset management, venture capital and “other” divisions increased earnings from a year earlier. Personal and commercial banking and life, health and general insurance were down, resulting in an overall drop in net income of 20.5%.

Kingsway’s 24.2% earnings decline was the result of US$1.5 million in realized investment losses, vs gains of US$14 million a year earlier. The company’s underwriting results improved slightly, with its combined ratio (operating losses and expenses as a percentage of net earned premiums) edging down to 96.2% from 96.3%.

Other struggling companies include Sceptre Investment Counsel Ltd., Seamark Asset Management Ltd. , Cunningham Lindsey (the claims servicing subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. ) and Loyalist Insurance Group Ltd. Then there’s mortgage originator Cervus Financial Group Inc. , which declared bankruptcy in June; it will be acquired by a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Ltd.

Initially, weak investment performance was the problem at Sceptre and Seamark. Then Sceptre’s plummeting assets under management was exacerbated by its association with Boston-based Putnam Investments Inc., which was caught in the 2003 U.S. mutual fund scandals. Seamark’s troubles started in 2004 and culminated in the loss of $3 billion in Clarington fund mandates when Clarington Corp. was acquired by Industrial-Alliance Insurance & Financial Services Inc. in December. Seamark also had management problems in 2005 that forced founder Peter Marshall to return to the helm temporarily. He has since been replaced by new president and CEO Stuart Raftus. Management is now reviewing its cost structure and focusing on maintaining investment quality, and strengthening existing and building new client relationships.

Cunningham, which completed a restructuring in 2004, had positive earnings in 2005 following five years in the red. But it slipped back into a loss position this quarter.

Loyalist Insurance, which has been struggling for a number of years, reported a small loss in the quarter. It is primarily focused on P&C insurance distribution. It sold its insurance underwriting subsidiary and its interest in All-Canadian Management Inc. in 2004.

On the other hand, there were a number of very big increases. Some — such as Fairfax’s 388.9% gain and Laurentian Bank of Canada’s 131.3% rise — were from low bases. Others — Grey Horse Capital Corp. and Rockwater Capital Corp. — are in building mode or, as with Loring Ward International Ltd. , in transition.

Here’s a detailed look at the sectors:

>Banks. The Big Six banks had profit increases ranging from 5.9% for National Bank of Canada to 20.7% for Royal Bank of Canada, while Laurentian, Canadian Western Bank and Equitable Group Inc. did even better. Star performer Home Capital Group Inc. had only a 4.5% earnings gain; Pacific & Western Credit Corp. had a big 20.9% drop in net income and Xceed Mortgage Corp. a small 1.7% one.

@page_break@This is the first time in more than 10 years that Home Capital did not increase its net income from the previous quarter, due to lower returns on mortgage securitizations, higher expenses and a small compression of the mortgage/interest rate spread. The company isn’t concerned, saying the business remains strong and continues to grow.

Pacific & Western’s net income declines further when the $1-million non-recurring dilution gain resulting from the initial public offering of Discovery Air Inc. is excluded. The company says the resulting increase in its regulatory capital and lending capacity will provide an ongoing boost to earnings.

Xceed’s earnings were down only a modest 1.7%. It notes that there are a number of new competitors in the subprime mortgage origination marketplace.

Among the big banks, Bank of Nova Scotia is continuing its aggressive acquisition strategy in Latin America and the Caribbean, announcing after the quarter’s end that it is buying Citibank’s retail banking business in the Dominion Republic and a Costa Rican bank. This follows the purchase of two Peruvian banks.

CIBC, which had retreated internationally, is buying Barclays Bank PLC’s 43.7% investment in First Caribbean. It has also committed to annual cost savings of $250 million by yearend. But the bank is facing a $2-billion lawsuit that alleges insider trading by bank personnel in Global Crossing Ltd., in which the bank had a big equity interest.

TD Bank Financial Group continues its U.S. expansion, with 51%-owned TD Banknorth purchasing New Jersey-based Interchange Financial Services Corp. Banknorth’s integration of Hudson United is going well, TD says.

> Life Insurers. All four firms were up, with Manulife Financial Corp. leading the way with a 25.3% earnings increase, followed by Industrial-Alliance’s 15.3% gain.

Great-West saw an 11.8% drop in revenue, partly because of the negative impact of the high Canadian dollar on U.S. and European revenue, but it still managed a 6% earnings gain.

Sun Life, with a couple of small acquisitions in Asia and improved U.S. performance, reported a 8.4% increase in net income. Subsidiary MFS Investment Management had net redemptions of US$300 million in the quarter, but AUM of US$170 billion is well up from a year earlier.

> P&C. In contrast to Kingsway, Fairfax more than doubled its realized investment gains, resulting in a huge increase in net income. Fairfax had big losses in the past two years as a result of U.S. hurricanes and could be hit again if there are more devastating storms. Northbridge, the subsidiary that operates Fairfax’s Canadian business, was up 8.8%.

EGI Financial Holdings Inc., which is in building mode, was up 62.8%, while ING Canada Inc. managed a strong 17.3% earnings increase by offsetting its lower underwriting profit with much higher investment gains.

Co-operators General Insurance Co. and Optimum General Inc. also had deteriorating underwriting results but, in their cases, this translated into declines in net income. Optimum’s combined ratio exceeded 100%, indicating a small underwriting loss.

> Mutual Fund And Investment-Management Companies. AGF Management Ltd. saw a 13.7% increase in net income to $24.1 million, its highest level since the third quarter of 2004. The company may have turned the corner, given positive mutual fund net sales for February through April. Its institutional and private-client segment continues to do well, with $13.4 billion in AUM as of Feb. 28, vs $5.1 million as of Nov. 30, 2003.

Giant IGM had a solid 15.3% increase in net income, while Dundee Wealth Management Inc. shone with a 178.2% earnings gain. Smaller Saxon Financial Inc. was up 16.1%. Mavrix Fund Management Inc. and Integrated Asset Management Corp., both in building mode, reported positive net income vs losses in the same period a year earlier. IAM’s BluMont subsidiary, however, is still in the red.

Guardian Capital Group Ltd. is finally reporting strong growth, with AUM at $18.9 billion as of Mar. 31, vs only $10 million as of Dec. 31, 2002; assets under administration were $4.9 billion vs $2.3 billion.

> Distributors And Suppliers. It was a good quarter for brokerage firms, with Canaccord Capital Inc. , GMP, Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and Rockwater Capital Corp. all reporting strong increases.

Anthony Clark International Insurance Brokers Ltd. had a loss, but Hub International Ltd. and Western Financial Group both had increases — of 12.9% and 8%, respectively.

> Exchanges. Both Montreal Exchange Inc. and TSX Group Inc. had increases of 50%-plus. IE