UPDATE 1-RBC profit rises 22 percent on trading, loans
* Earnings come in just above Wall Street estimate
* Loan-loss provisions jump 31 percent
TORONTO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada's quarterly profit rose 22 percent on a sharp jump in fixed income trading revenue and steady loan growth, Canada's largest bank said on Thursday.
RBC, which last month agreed to buy the Canadian auto finance arm of Ally Financial in a $4.1 billion deal, said it had earned C$1.9 billion, or C$1.25 a share, in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31.
That compared with a year-earlier profit of C$1.6 billion, or C$1.02 a share.
Excluding one-time items, the bank earned C$1.27 a share, which was just ahead of the analysts' average estimate of C$1.26 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Capital markets income more than tripled to C$410 million, benefiting from fixed-income trading results that compared with those of an abnormally weak quarter a year earlier.
Personal and commercial banking income rose 9 percent to C$1.0 billion, as stronger loan volumes offset higher costs.
The loan growth came despite concerns that it might slow because of a cooling housing market and record-high Canadian consumer debt levels.
Partially offsetting the profit growth were higher provisions for bad loans, which rose 31 percent to C$362 million.
RBC is the first Canadian bank to report year-end results.