The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canadian Western Bank's third quarter profit fell 3 per cent from last year, to $51-million or 65 cents a share. The Globe's David Berman writes that while the bank's profit was a bit below expectations, the results nonetheless suggest Canadian Western appears to be riding the downturn of the energy sector in Alberta rather well. Even bad loans were not so bad, says Mr. Berman. Although the lender's provision for credit losses rose 15 per cent from last year, they amounted to just $8-million. Meanwhile, the loan book continues to grow, even in Alberta, the source of 42 per cent of the bank's total loans. The performance of Canadian Western appears at odds with the economic health of its home market in Alberta. Canadian Western's share price reflects this bleak outlook. The shares have collapsed 45 per cent over the past year to five-year lows. RBC analyst Darko Mihelic says, "Despite no evidence of credit deterioration and no evidence of an imminent slowdown in loan growth, we believe we are still early in the cycle and the impact of a sustained low oil price environment on [Canadian Western] remains uncertain, in our view."