National Bank of Canada's profit gets a lift from Canadian Western deal

Feb 25 (Reuters) - National Bank of Canada (NTIOF) reported higher first-quarter profit ?on Wednesday, as the acquisition of ?Canadian Western Bank boosted its personal and commercial banking ?business.

The lender said net income in the ?personal and commercial banking unit jumped ?47% to ?C$427 million from a year earlier, while revenue increased 27% ?following the purchase.

Lingering uncertainty ?over U.S.-Canada trade relations has weighed on business and consumer confidence, encouraging Canadian ?lenders to rely ?more ?on higher-margin businesses such as capital markets and wealth management.

National Bank's capital markets profit rose ?6% from a year ago to C$443 ?million in the reported quarter, while its wealth management unit's profit increased 12% to C$272 million.

Peer Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) ?beat ?profit estimates on Tuesday, supported by strong ?growth across segments.

National Bank posted an ?adjusted profit of C$1.32 billion ($963.50 million), or C$3.25 per share, in the three months ended January 31, compared with a profit of C$1.05 billion, or C$2.93 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had ?expected an adjusted profit of C$2.99 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. ($1 = 1.3700 ?Canadian dollars) (Reporting by ?Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; ?Editing by Sahal Muhammed)