TD Bank profit jumps 23 percent, raises dividend

Net profit rose 23 percent to C$1.45 billion ($1.48 billion), or C$1.58 a share, in the third quarter ended July 31, Canada's No. 2 bank said on Thursday.

That was up from C$1.18 billion, or C$1.29 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out special items, the bank earned C$1.72 a share. Analysts had expected C$1.62, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

TD raised its quarterly dividend by 3 percent to 68 Canadian cents a share, becoming the second Canadian bank to do so this quarter.

The results benefited from lower loan-loss provisions and higher retail loan volumes, which more than offset narrow interest margins.

Wholesale banking profit -- made up of market-related revenues such as investment banking and trading -- was weaker.

In addition to its core Canadian bank, TD owns an expansive U.S. retail bank, with a heavy branch presence on the East Coast. TD also owns a 44 percent stake in online brokerage TD Ameritrade .

Earlier this year, TD closed a US$6.3 billion purchase of Chrysler Financial, and in early August, it agreed to buy Bank of America's US$8.6 billion Canadian credit card portfolio.

($1=$0.98 Canadian)

(Reporting by Cameron French)