Bank of Nova Scotia : TD Bank Group's quarterly profit falls 3.5% as loan loss provisions rise

TD Bank Group reported a 3.5% fall in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, as Canada's second-biggest lender by market value was hurt by higher provisions for loan losses and a restructuring charge.

Provisions for credit losses also rose at other major Canadian banks, including bigger rival Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Nova Scotia.

TD Bank's provisions for loan losses, or the amount a bank sets aside to cover bad loans, rose 33%.

Net income at the domestic retail business rose marginally to C$1.75 billion ($1.32 billion), while U.S. retail business' net income grew nearly 7% to C$1.19 billion.

The lender disclosed a restructuring charge of $154 million in the quarter.

Net income fell to C$2.86 billion, or C$1.54 per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31, from C$2.96 billion, or C$1.58 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the lender earned C$1.59 per share.

($1 = 1.3301 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)