Net income in the private client group at Bank of Montreal was up by nearly 60 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the three months to 30 April, the Canadian bank’s second quarter.

BMO Financial Group logged net income of C$145 million ($141.5 million) in the private client segment, up by C$54 million from a year earlier.

Assets under management and administration in the private client arm grew by C$159 billion from a year ago, to C$445 billion. The bank attributed the rise to acquisitions and said that AuM and AuA increased 2.4 per cent when compared with the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the firm’s personal and commercial banking segment in the US, which includes BMO Harris Bank and Marshall & Ilsley, doubled its net income to C$121 million.

Across all its divisions, the Canadian banking group recorded net income of C$1.03 billion for the second quarter, up C$215 million or 27 per cent year-on-year.

Another highlight in the financial quarter was the acquisition of an Asian wealth management business based in Hong Kong and Singapore, BMO said. The high net worth-specialized firm had C$2 billion in AuM at the end of March.

In other recent international developments at the group, earlier this month BMO opened the doors of its representative office in Abu Dhabi, set up to cover the Middle East and North Africa asset management and investment banking markets.