National Bank of Canada's profit rises on stronger wealth management, interest income

May ⁠27 (Reuters) - National Bank of ​Canada reported a rise in second-quarter profit on Wednesday, ​helped ‌by strong growth in its wealth management ⁠business and income from interest payments.

Canadian ⁠banks have increasingly ​leaned on higher-margin businesses such as wealth management, betting on strong inflows from clients and recurring ​fees ‌to support earnings growth.

National Bank's wealth management unit's profit rose 18% to C$274 million in the quarter.

A series of ​rate cuts last year helped Canadian banks ‌lower deposit costs and support loan demand, keeping borrowing broadly steady during ‌the quarter despite macroeconomic pressures.

This helped lift net interest income - the difference between what the ​bank earns on loans and pays out on ‌deposits - to C$1.31 billion from C$1.21 billion a year earlier.

The Canadian lender posted an adjusted ⁠profit ⁠of C$1.30 billion ($939.78 million), or ‌C$3.23 per share, in the three months ended April 30, ​compared ​with a profit of C$1.17 ‌billion, or C$2.85 per share, a year ago.