Mr. Laurent Ferreira reports

NATIONAL BANK REPORTS ITS RESULTS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2024

For the first quarter of 2024, National Bank of Canada had net income of $922-million, up 5 per cent from $876-million in the first quarter of 2023. First quarter diluted earnings per share stood at $2.59 compared with $2.47 in the first quarter of 2023. These increases were driven by total revenue growth in all of the business segments as well as by the impact of the Canadian government's 2022 tax measures on income taxes in the first quarter of 2023. Excluding the impact of those measures, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share both increased by 2 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2023.

"National Bank delivered strong performance and excellent return on equity for the first quarter of 2024, underpinned by sustained momentum and execution across our business segments. These results reflect the earnings power of our diversified business mix and relevance of our defensive posture," said Laurent Ferreira, president and chief executive officer of National Bank of Canada.

"Our effective capital deployment, active cost management and commitment to maintaining a prudent credit profile are serving us well, particularly in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. We enter the second quarter on solid footing," added Mr. Ferreira.

Personal and commercial:

• Net income totalled $339-million in the first quarter of 2024 versus $326-million in the first quarter of 2023, a 4-per-cent increase that was driven by growth in total revenues, partly offset by higher non-interest expenses and higher provisions for credit losses.
• Income before provisions for credit losses and income taxes totalled $539-million in the first quarter of 2024, up 5 per cent from $511-million in the first quarter of 2023.
• At $1,154-million, first quarter total revenues rose $50-million or 5 per cent year-over-year due mainly to an increase in net interest income (driven by growth in loan and deposit volumes) and to a higher net interest margin.
• Compared with a year ago, personal lending grew 2 per cent and commercial lending grew 11 per cent.
• Net interest margin stood at 2.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, up from 2.35 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.
• First quarter non-interest expenses stood at $615-million, up 4 per cent year-over-year.
• First quarter provisions for credit losses rose $10-million year-over-year, mainly due to higher allowances for credit losses on impaired loans.
• At 53.3 per cent, the efficiency ratio improved from 53.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

Wealth management:

• Net income totalled $196-million in the first quarter of 2024, down 1 per cent from $198-million in the first quarter of 2023.
• First quarter total revenues amounted to $660-million compared with $637-million in first quarter 2023, a $23-million or 4-per-cent increase driven essentially by growth in fee-based revenues owing to strong stock market performance.
• First quarter non-interest expenses stood at $390-million, up 7 per cent from $364-million in first quarter 2023.
• At 59.1 per cent, the efficiency ratio compares with 57.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

Financial markets:

• Net income totalled $308-million in the first quarter of 2024, up 3 per cent from $298-million in the first quarter of 2023.
• First quarter total revenues on a taxable equivalent basis amounted to $755-million, up $66-million or 10 per cent given an increase in global markets revenues and an increase in revenues from corporate and investment banking services.
• First quarter non-interest expenses stood at $313-million compared with $287-million in first quarter 2023, an increase that was partly due to compensation and employee benefits as well as to the segment's technological investments.
• Provisions for credit losses of $17-million were recorded in the first quarter of 2024 compared with $9-million in credit loss recoveries recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
• At 41.5 per cent, the efficiency ratio on a taxable equivalent basis improved from 41.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

U.S. specialty finance and international:

• Net income totalled $150-million in the first quarter of 2024 versus $147-million in the first quarter of 2023.
• First quarter total revenues amounted to $326-million, a 2-per-cent year-over-year increase that was essentially driven by revenue growth at the ABA Bank subsidiary.
• First quarter non-interest expenses stood at $100-million, a 2-per-cent year-over-year increase attributable mainly to business growth at ABA Bank.
• Provisions for credit losses rose $1-million year-over-year.
• At 30.7 per cent, the efficiency ratio was stable compared with the first quarter of 2023.

Other:

• There was a net loss of $71-million in the first quarter of 2024 versus a net loss of $93-million in the first quarter of 2023, a change arising from a $24-million income tax expense related to the Canadian government's 2022 tax measures recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

Capital management:

• As at Jan. 31, 2024, the Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio under Basel III stood at 13.1 per cent, down from 13.5 per cent as at Oct. 31, 2023, notably due to a negative impact of implementing revised market risk and credit valuation adjustment (CVA) risk frameworks.
• As at Jan. 31, 2024, the Basel III leverage ratio was 4.3 per cent, down from 4.4 per cent as at Oct.31, 2023.

Dividends:

• On Feb. 27, 2024, the board of directors declared regular dividends on the various series of first preferred shares and a dividend of $1.06 per common share, payable on May 1, 2024, to shareholders of record on March 25, 2024.

Disclosure of the first quarter 2024 results

Conference call:

• A conference call for analysts and institutional investors will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, at 1 p.m. ET.
• Access by telephone in listen-only mode: 1-800-806-5484 or 416-340-2217. The access code is 8438144 followed by the pound key.
• A recording of the conference call can be heard until May 24, 2024, by dialling 1-800-408-3053 or 905-694-9451. The access code is 8808810 followed by the pound key.

Webcast:

• The conference call will be webcast live on the bank's website.
• A recording of the webcast will also be available on National Bank's website after the call.

Financial documents:

• The report to shareholders (which includes the quarterly consolidated financial statements) is available at all times on National Bank's website.
• The report to shareholders, the supplementary financial information, the supplementary regulatory capital and Pillar 3 disclosure, and a slide presentation will be available on the investor relations page of National Bank's website on the morning of the day of the conference call.

We seek Safe Harbor.