The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, Oct. 22, edition that falling oil prices are not expected to materially impact loan growth at the Canadian banks, but they could be a headwind to underwriting revenues, says Scotia Capital analyst Sumit Malhotra. The Post's David Pett writes that Mr. Malhotra says, "Though an extended period of weakness in energy prices would clearly impact credit quality trends, in our view the size of the portfolio is not large enough to materially weigh on either credit or growth trends." Mr. Malhotra says bank loans to the energy sector made up just 6 per cent of total business loans and 2 per cent of the entire portfolio at the Big Six banks as of the third quarter. In addition, he says the health of the energy portfolio is "pristine," with the current 22-basis-point non-performing loan ratio considerably below the 83-basis-point rate on the business book as a whole. If there is a concern related to falling oil prices, Mr. Malhotra says it is the potential impact on investment banking. By his estimate, energy has accounted for about 30 per cent of this year's underwriting revenue for the banks. Mr. Malhotra Canadian Western Bank is most affected by weakness in energy prices.