Bank of Nova Scotia reported a lower first-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$2.37 billion ($1.75 billion), or C$1.85 a share, in the three months ended Jan. 31, compared with C$2.76 billion, or C$2.15 a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected C$2.03 a share, according to Refinitiv data.

 

($1 = 1.3566 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)