The Financial Post reports in its Friday, Aug. 29, edition that Laurentian Bank of Canada ($49.91) posted profit that missed estimates, hurt by fewer high-margin personal loans and lower prepayment penalties on mortgage loans. A Reuters dispatch to the Post reports that net income rose to $40.1-million or $1.27 per share in the third quarter ended July 31. That compares with net income of $27-million or 86 cents a year earlier. Excluding items, the lender earned $1.35 per share, below the average analyst estimate of $1.40 per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Net interest income fell 2 per cent to $141.2-million, while provision for loan losses, the amount of money the bank sets aside to cover bad loans, increased by $1.5-million to $10.5-million. Laurentian Bank's results contrast with those of its larger peers Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which beat estimates. RBC Capital Markets analyst Darko Mihelic rated Laurentian Bank "sector perform" in the Post on Jan. 7. The shares were then going for $46.47. First Avenue manager Kash Pashootan was bullish on banks in the Post on May 28. Laurentian Bank shares were then worth $47.97.