TORONTO — Canada's big banks are set to report third-quarter earnings next week, providing potential insights into the health of the economy as the U.S. trade war creates deep uncertainty.
Bank stocks have seen gains above the broader market in recent months as the initial fear around U.S. tariffs has somewhat eased, while the sector benefited last quarter from a spike in trading revenue from heightened activity in the whipsawing market.
Analysts aren't expecting the same pop from trading in results, but they also don't expect banks to add notably to their provisions for bad loans like they did after U.S. President Donald Trump's big tariff scare in April.
National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine says credit outlook, or how much banks are setting aside, remains the biggest source of forecast uncertainty for the quarter.
He says in a note that the Big Six bank stocks have outperformed the wider TSX by one percentage point so far this year, despite weak domestic GDP and rising unemployment, raising concerns about valuations.
BMO and Scotiabank report on results next Tuesday, Royal Bank and National Bank on Wednesday and CIBC and TD Bank Group round out results on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2025.
Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press
