The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that for Canada's big banks, some are chalking the quarter up to getting bad news out of the way, while others warn the increasing provisions point to a softening economy and regulatory landscape. The Post's Barbara Shecter quotes CIBC World Markets analyst Paul Holden saying in a note, "We see potential downside risk to 2024 earnings expectations across the banks based on higher credit losses." Royal Bank of Canada beat analyst earnings expectations for the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31 due, in part, to its capital markets operations, but total provisions for credit losses rose to $720-million from $339-million a year earlier, even higher than the $699-million forecast by analysts. RBC's gross impaired loans of $3.7-billion were also up in the fourth quarter, climbing 13 per cent from the previous quarter and 68 per cent from the year-earlier period. However, the bank noted in its earnings report that the ratio of impaired loans remains below the historical average. Maria-Gabriella Khoury at Fitch Ratings pointed out that a portion of the provisions taken by the banks represents performing rather than impaired loans, meaning borrowers are continuing to pay them back.