Are we numb to banks’ profits?
Is it just me? The “news item” is that banks are increasing their dividends (what they pay out to their investors), but the real story behind that headline is that bank profits are exploding through the roof. But it’s kind of hard to write a news article about that. When bank quarterly profits climb into the billions and then continually exceed the last quarter’s record, it really becomes incomprehensible. And when it’s incomprehensible, when it’s so out of our mental grasp, it’s really hard to care.
- In the news, BMO (Bank of Montreal) posted higher earnings, and stated that its third quarter net income (before deductions) grew by 37%. “Revenue increased to $3.88 billion from $3.32 billion.”
- Scotiabank, which grew by 57% in the third quarter. “Revenue increased to $5.51 billion from $4.3 billion.”
- Royal Bank’s quarterly profit grew to $2.24 billion.
- Toronto Dominion posted a 14% rise in net income to C$1.7 billion.
- CIBC says its revenue was $3.15 billion in the quarter.
Mostly, the banks say that their profits are because the economy is good and very few people are defaulting on their loans. Meanwhile, Canadians are seeing the highest household debt ever.
Makes you scratch your head, don’t it?
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