Toronto-Dominion Bank is reporting lower profit for the first quarter ended January 31.

The bank attributed the drop in profit to higher provisions for loans related to the telecommunications sector and Argentina, despite a solid performance in retail banking and brokerage operations,

TD said first-quarter basic cash operating earnings were $526 million, or 79¢ a share. That compares with $569 million, or 88¢ a share in the prior-year quarter.

Return on equity on a cash basis fell to 16.4% from 19.5%. The bank raised its provisions for bad loans to $325 million in the quarter from $120 million a year ago. It had announced in early February that it will increase loan loss provisions.

As in recent quarters, TD Canada Trust and TD Securities provided solid contributions to the overall earnings, resulting in another sound performance for the Bank despite an operating environment that continues to be challenging,” said TD Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, A. Charles Baillie.

“We remain focused on our strategic imperatives and have taken many steps during the quarter in support of these imperatives of achieving scale, maintaining momentum, being where banking is going and engaging in activities that are at least North American in scope,” said Baillie.