The Mouvement des caisses Desjardins is reporting improved surplus earnings for the second quarter ended July 30.

Surplus earnings before patronage allocations were $163.3 million or 97¢ per $100 average assets compared to $120.5 million and 74¢ for the previous quarter, representing a 35% increase for the quarter, and 23% more than the corresponding period in 2000.

“The strong growth and profitability the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins achieved since the beginning of 2001 has continued into the second quarter. This is the result of the combined effect of improved margins in the financial intermediation sector and a significant decrease in the loan losses provision, which reflects a sustained reduction in impaired loans outstanding for the network of Desjardins caisses,” said the president and CEO, Alban D’Amours.

At the end of the first half of 2001, the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins shows surplus earnings before patronage allocations of $283.3 million or 86¢ per $100 average assets, up by 33% compared to $212.9 million or 67¢ for the same period last year.

Return on member equity for the first half was 11.7%, compared to 9.5% for the same period last year. The ratio of operating expenses over total income clearly improved, dropping from 75.5% in 2000 to 71.5 %.

As at June 30 the overall assets of the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins, including the caisses and federations of Ontario, Manitoba and Acadia, totalled $83 billion, growing by 6.9% or $5.3 billion in one year. These results are mainly attributable to the Mouvement’s aggressive recruitment of savings as well as its loan offerings.

At the end of the second quarter of 2001, total income, constituted by net financial and other income, grew by $127.1 or 9% compared with results for 2000, reaching $1,532.6 million.