The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Credit Suisse analyst Joo Ho Kim is not letting go of his "underperform" recommendation for Laurentian Bank of Canada. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Kim, however, upgraded his share target by a loonie to $33. Analysts on average target the shares at $39. Mr. Kim says in a note: "With the underlying (PTPP) earnings coming in modestly better than what we were looking for. That was driven by lower expenses, as revenues were slightly lower than our forecast, with the better improvement in NIM this quarter offset against further deceleration in loan growth. While slower loan growth was similar to what we saw from its larger peer group this quarter (somewhat slower than our assumption), we do note good results from residential mortgages (up 1 per cent quarter-over-quarter) as positive in a tough market for the business. Expenses were elevated this quarter in the context of revenue (with negative operating leverage and efficiency ratio near 70 per cent), but we expect some pressure to ease off over the next two quarters. Looking ahead, the bank reiterated much of its guidance on key earnings drivers, and we continue to look for signs of execution ahead."