The wealth management arm of Toronto-listed Royal Bank of Canada, which has risen rapidly as a wealth business around the world, said its net income in the three months to 31 July fell by C$18 million ($16.5 million) to C$168 million from the same period a year ago, but rose by C$42 million on the previous quarter.

The quarterly improvement in net income was driven by higher transaction volumes and fee-based client assets as markets improved during the first six months of this year, RBC said in a statement.

“In our wealth management segment, we started to see asset levels recover and investor confidence return to the market. We had industry-leading long term fund sales in Canada and added over 100 experienced advisors globally,” said Gordon Nixon, president and chief executive of the bank.

The banking group has a Tier 1 capital ratio of 12.9 per cent.

Across the banking group as a whole, RBC said it logged a net income of C$1.56 billion for the third quarter, a gain of 24 per cent - or C$299 million - from a year ago. Earnings were driven, the bank said, by strong results from its capital markets division and “solid performances” in Canadian banking, wealth management and insurance.

At its international banking division, RBC posted a net loss of C$95 million, compared with a net loss of C$16 million a year ago.

“The credit profile in our US retail operations is showing signs of improvement as the rate of deterioration in our loan portfolios slowed,” Mr Nixon added.