The profit is also more than three times higher than the C$14 million for the first quarter this year.

Since March this year, retail banking and wealth management are managed as a single customer group after a decision made last autumn by the parent company, HSBC Holdings.

On a year-to-date basis, profit before income tax was C$62 million for the retail and wealth unit in 2011, compared with C$37 million for the comparable period in 2010.

HSBC attributes the upturn to, among other things, strong sales and higher client trading volumes in the wealth management business and higher fees from funds under management.

Total assets under administration, where funds under management make up the lion’s share, were C$32.3 billion on 30 June 2011 compared with C$29.4 billion a year ago. However, it is almost one billion lower than at the end of the first quarter this year.

For HSBC Canada as a whole, profit attributable to common shareholders was C$191 million for the second quarter, up 7.3 per cent from the second quarter last year.