Bank of Montreal witnessed its first-quarter revenues and profits, helped by strong results in its Canadian operations and shrinking provisions for bad loans. The bank is planning to kick its mortgage business back into growth mode as a result.    

The bank reported a first-quarter profit of $657-million yesterday, compared to $225-million a year ago, making it the third Canadian bank to consecutively top analysts' expectations. Its cash earnings came in at $1.13 per share, while the Street had been forecasting profit of about $1.03 per share.

Edward Jones analyst Craig Fehr said in an interview, "The credit picture, while not necessarily completely healed is showing signs of stabilization and improvement".

The bank said that the revenue was higher in each of the operating groups except personal and commercial banking in the U. S. The weaker U. S. dollar decreased revenue growth by $128 million.

Frank Techar, the head of the bank's Canadian lending arm, said in an interview, "We just had our sixth terrific quarter in a row".

Mr. Techar took over during the struggling operations in July 2006, after a period in which the bank's profits were suffering partially because of a strategy that sought to lure customers with cheap mortgages and high interest rates on savings accounts.

The bank decided in early 2007 to stop using mortgage brokers to maintain profit margins on the mortgages it sells, a move that has cost it market share.