Bank of Nova Scotia reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as a lull in its investment banking division dented income from its capital markets unit and compelled the lender to set aside higher provisions.

Net income, excluding one-off items, came in at C$2.62 billion ($1.95 billion), or C$2.06 a share, in the three months ended Oct. 31, compared with C$2.72 billion, or C$2.10, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected C$2 a share, according to Refinitiv data.

Canada's third-largest lender reported overall net profit of C$2.09 billion, or C$1.63 a share, compared with C$2.56 billion, or C$1.97 a share, last year. ($1 = 1.3454 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)