Canadian banks return to focus on cost controls, resume paused job cuts

TORONTO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Canadian banks are returning to a focus on managing expenses, with some resuming job cuts put on hold in response to the coronavirus pandemic and others holding off on some investments not deemed immediately necessary.

Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are resuming job cuts this quarter that were announced late last year and early this year and paused as the coronavirus pandemic hit in the spring, their chief executives said at the online Scotiabank Financials Summit on Wednesday.

Bank of Nova Scotia, the only Canadian bank to miss analyst expectations for third-quarter earnings, has room for further cost cuts in its international markets, and the lender and Toronto-Dominion Bank are holding off on investments they do not need immediately, their heads said. (Reporting By Nichola Saminather Editing by Chris Reese)