(Corrects dateline)

May 26 (Reuters) – Bank of Montreal beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, as the lender set aside lower-than-expected provisions in the quarter.

Net income excluding one-off items rose to C$2.1 billion ($1.74 billion), or C$3.13 per share, in the three months ended April 30, compared with C$715 million, or C$1.04, a year earlier. Analysts had expected C$2.77 a share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Canada’s fourth-biggest lender reported an overall net profit of C$1.30 billion, or C$1.91 a share, up from C$689 million, or C$1 a share, a year ago.

Reporting by Nichola Saminather and Niket Nishant; Editing by Devika Syamnath

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