Canada’s largest banks are posting stronger second-quarter earnings as wealth management and capital markets businesses help offset pressure from consumer weakness and rising credit-loss provisions. Investors are also watching how banks navigate economic uncertainty and weaker household finances.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management, about earnings from Scotiabank, BMO and National Bank, and why he continues to favour Canadian energy producers tied to long-term natural gas demand growth.
Key Takeaways
- Scotiabank’s earnings were supported by lower loan-loss provisions and stronger execution, although investors remain focused on credit quality and economic weakness.
- BMO’s U.S. banking operations and capital markets business continue to provide diversification and earnings support amid uncertainty in Canada.
- National Bank stood out for disciplined execution, wealth management growth and consistently strong profitability relative to peers.
- Grant White said volatility is likely to continue in financial markets, but pullbacks in large Canadian banks could create buying opportunities for long-term investors.
- White also highlighted Canadian Natural Resources and Tourmaline Oil as beneficiaries of stronger natural gas demand, energy exports and resilient cash-flow generation.
Read the full transcript below:
LINDSAY: Canada’s big six banks are turning in their second-quarter earnings results. Scotiabank and BMO beat year-ago earnings by wide margins. Both banks point to wealth management and fee-based businesses as key drivers of growth. Let’s get more now from Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management. Good morning. Thanks for joining us.
GRANT: Yeah, good morning, Lindsay. Thanks for having me.
LINDSAY: Let’s start with Scotiabank, because this is a name you like. What drove the quarter for Scotiabank?
GRANT: Yeah, I mean, I think they’ve done a really good job, especially in getting loan-loss provisions down. We’re really excited about what the earnings report did. It actually moved them up on the scale for us. We did like them before, especially from a domestic bank perspective. I think there were still some question marks that we had about Bank of Nova Scotia, and those were largely cleared up from this report. All things are looking really good for Bank of Nova Scotia, and I think shareholders should be very happy with what’s going on there.
LINDSAY: On credit, though, Scotiabank set aside more than $1 billion in provisions for credit losses in the quarter, which was more than forecast. Why do you think that is? Is this a broader sign of the Canadian economy right now and moving forward?
GRANT: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s the question, right? Absolutely. I think it shows what they’re thinking about, and they’re expressing that there are a lot of the same challenges that we’re seeing out there in the economy, and that maybe people aren’t doing as well. So that is something we need to be a little more aware of and cautious about. At the same time, I think they’re being prudent. They’ve shown strong management around these things, so I’m not overly worried about it. In fact, I think that’s more of a sign of prudent management as we go forward here. But it’s definitely a sign of where they see the economy at, and I don’t think that should be a surprise to anybody at this point.
LINDSAY: Okay, because I was going to ask why BMO or National Bank didn’t exactly do the same thing, but you think this points more toward management within Scotiabank.
GRANT: I think it points more toward the management at Scotiabank, but I also think it points more toward the quality of what they’ve got going on and the domestic nature of Bank of Nova Scotia as well. For all those reasons, I think they’re holding a little more risk, and that’s why I’d have them a little lower down the buy scale, if you will, compared to BMO and National Bank as well. But that’s all relative risk, if you will, and I still feel very confident with Bank of Nova Scotia going forward. Again, I think their management is quite strong, and they’ve shown that.
LINDSAY: Okay, BMO now. It also reported a beat, especially in its U.S. banking segment. What jumps out to you in this earnings report?
GRANT: One thing is that capital markets has proven to be really strong for BMO once again. One of the reasons we like BMO is that U.S. banking side. It provides nice diversification, especially compared to a domestic bank. I really like the fact that I think the U.S. is going to continue to be really strong economically. Again, pointing to some contrast here with Bank of Nova Scotia, I think BMO is going to weather this a little better because of that U.S. strength. We’ve owned them for quite some time, and after this report, I think it’s not only proven well for our ownership, but it’s also pointing to signs that we’re very confident owning this going forward and buying more into it.
LINDSAY: How sustainable are the current earnings levels for both BMO and Scotiabank?
GRANT: Well, I think they’re sustainable, given what we’re seeing out there economically. It doesn’t mean there’s going to be a straight-up line here, and we never expect that, to be quite honest. Again, I think you can feel very confident about the way that BMO continues to manage things over time. Although we might face some headwinds along the way, nobody really knows what’s going to happen in the next few months. We’re very confident in their ability to navigate whatever it is that we’re going to face. But I do expect some volatility as we go along here, and I would treat that as buying opportunities, especially with a company like BMO.
LINDSAY: Okay, National Bank as well reported lower-than-expected credit losses, despite a modest miss in core personal and commercial banking. What stood out to you in this report?
GRANT: National Bank continues to be a bit of a standout here, to be quite honest. They have such strong leadership at that company. They continue to be very strong quarter after quarter. What stands out here is that the wealth management side of the business continues to do very well. They’ve continued to do well in that space. They don’t have the same advantages as some of the other banks when it comes to diversity in revenue streams, but all in, they’re very focused, very disciplined, and they continue to make big gains in certain areas. I like that nature of National Bank. Because of that, if you’re comparing all three of them, National Bank would be the top pick for us right now, given how they’ve been able to perform and what we expect from them going forward.
LINDSAY: Okay, you do have some stock picks today that I wanted to get to. They’re not in the financial sector, so let’s talk about those instead. Canadian Natural Resources is your first pick today. Tell us why you like Canadian Natural Resources, particularly with what we’re seeing in oil prices right now.
GRANT: Yeah, so Canadian Natural has been a company that we’ve liked for a very long time. I think this story is coming back again because of what we’re seeing in the energy marketplace, given the conflicts in the Middle East and everything we’ve seen. I think why I like this so much today is because we are seeing new deals coming up. We’re seeing big announcements out of Germany buying natural gas from Canada, and new prospects for deals going forward. We’ve liked Canadian Natural for a long time already, and we continue to like them going forward. We like them even more given the environment for energy today. I think CNQ is going to do very, very well.
We’re also seeing a really nice price point here. I wouldn’t say they’re overly cheap, but I think they’re very fairly priced. You’re getting a really nice yield when you factor in their dividend and buyback yield, so you get paid to wait on this one at the same time. There are a lot of tailwinds forming behind Canadian energy, and CNQ is frankly one of the best in the business.
LINDSAY: Is that the same story for Tourmaline Oil then? You’ve always liked them, but now you like them even more given what’s been happening?
GRANT: I wouldn’t say I’ve always liked Tourmaline, but we certainly like them today, and we have liked them for the last little while. A lot of the same drivers are behind Tourmaline and CNQ, for sure. This is more of a pure natural gas play, though. If you’re buying into the natural gas story like we are, then Tourmaline is more of a pure play on that. It’s not an oil business.
If you look at pricing, especially right now, Tourmaline is trading at a great price, and they’ve also proven to be a low-cost producer. Even if we do see price volatility, which frankly we’re not expecting given what we’re seeing out there in the world, we expect Tourmaline is going to be very profitable. If prices remain elevated like we’re seeing today, they should do very, very well. For all those reasons, you can feel very confident with CNQ. It’s a really stable company and a good core holding, but you can also feel very confident with Tourmaline going forward as well.
LINDSAY: Okay, Grant White, portfolio manager and investment advisor at Endeavour Wealth Management. Always great to have you on. Thanks so much.
GRANT: Thanks, Lindsay. Thanks so much for having me.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the May 27, 2026 interview with Grant White are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
