[Photo: Lake Banff in the Canadian Rockies, by Tobias Alt, Tobias 87 own work  /  Wikimedia Commons]

The mood is very positive at Canada’s 6 biggest banks, namely – (i) Bank of Montreal (BMO); (ii) Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC); (iii) Royal Bank of Canada (RBC); (iv) Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD); (v) Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotia); and, (vi) National Bank of Canada (National Bank).

All the banks posted record earnings that beat Street expectations – largely riding the crest of the buoyant end-of-year capital markets. Corporate finance contributed to the bottom line, as did commercial banking.

So, while European banks seem to be falling farther behind their U.S. counterparts, Canadian banks are keeping up with their ‘southern’ neighbors.