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TORONTO, May 24 (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal BMO.TO , Canada's fourth-largest lender, on Wednesday reported higher quarterly earnings, benefiting from a strong performance from its wealth management and capital markets businesses.
The bank said earnings per share, excluding one-off items, rose to C$1.92 ($1.42) in the second quarter ended on April 30 from C$1.73 a year earlier. Analysts on average expected C$1.93, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Earnings before special items jumped 72 percent to C$272 million at the wealth management unit and increased 12 percent to C$322 million in the capital markets business.
The bank said, however, that U.S. loan and deposit growth had moderated, reflecting slower-than-anticipated business activity in the first quarter of the calendar year.
($1 = 1.3505 Canadian dollars)