Stronger fee businesses and CWB deal shaped the bank’s 2025 finish
National Bank of Canada closed out 2025 with higher profit and a bigger payout to shareholders, capping a year defined by the Canadian Western Bank acquisition and resilient fee income.
For the fourth quarter, the bank reported net income of $1.059 billion, up 11% from a year earlier, with adjusted earnings rising 25% to $1.16 billion or $2.82 per share.
Full‑year adjusted profit climbed 21% to $4.479 billion, from $3,716 million for fiscal 2024. The quarterly dividend increased by six cents to $1.24 per share.
“In 2025, we delivered strong financial performance – meeting all our medium‑term financial objectives – as we also completed the largest acquisition in our history,” Laurent Ferreira, president and chief executive officer, said.
National Bank is also set to acquire Laurentian Bank's retail, SME and syndicated loan portfolios for consideration expected to be around book value at closing.
“With our strengthened national presence, diversified business mix, strong capital ratios and prudent credit profile, we are well‑positioned to generate continued growth and superior returns, in what will remain a complex macro‑environment,” he said.
Wealth management and capital markets drove much of the momentum.
The bank said its capital markets profit grew 41% year over year to $432 million in the quarter, while wealth management earnings rose 18% to $258 million as clients continued to generate higher advisory and investment‑related revenue.
For institutional investors and corporate clients, the latest numbers suggest that National Bank enters 2026 leaning on a broader national footprint, stronger fee businesses and a balance sheet that management said is ready for another year of choppy markets and integration work.
Meanwhile, Scotiabank’s fourth-quarter financial results beat analyst estimates, with earnings of $2.2 billion per share, up from $1.69 billion in 2024’s fourth quarter. RBC’s profit also climbed to about $5.4 billion.
Other top lenders are scheduled to release their Q4 results tomorrow, including Bank of Montreal (BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD).
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