Adds details throughout from press release, analysts estimates

By Nivedita Balu and Ateev Bhandari

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Canadian lender Bank of Nova Scotia BNS.TO on Tuesday reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, powered by strength in its capital markets segment and higher fee income from its wealth management business.

Scotiabank is the first of the big six Canadian banks to report fourth-quarter results, wrapping up a year marked by trade and tariff uncertainty, unemployment concerns in Canada and a sluggish housing market that has pushed lenders to set aside more money to safeguard against souring loans.

The bank, Canada's fourth largest by market capitalization, also took a C$373 million restructuring charge in the quarter due to layoffs at its Canadian banking business and at its Asian operations in Global Banking and Markets.

Scotiabank’s new management team has scaled back exposure to underperforming markets and instead focused on the North American trade corridor since late 2023, which included the transfer of assets in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama to Colombian bank Davivienda and the purchase of a nearly 15% stake in U.S. regional lender KeyCorp.

Like other Canadian banks, Scotiabank has also focused on high-margin businesses driven by fee income such as wealth management and advisory, as loan growth in both personal and commercial banking have slowed in an uncertain environment.

Net income at Scotiabank's global banking and markets segment rose nearly 50% in the fourth quarter ended October 31, while it rose about 18% at its wealth management business, driven by higher mutual fund and investment management fees.

Net interest income - the difference between what banks make on loans and pay out on deposits - was C$5.59 billion ($3.99 billion) in the reported quarter, up from C$4.92 billion in the year-ago period.

Its provision for credit losses was C$1.11 billion in the reported quarter, up from C$1.03 billion last year, reflecting expectations of higher defaults.

On an adjusted basis, it reported a profit of C$2.56 billion or C$1.93 per share, for the quarter ended October 31, compared with C$2.12 billion, or C$1.57 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting earnings per share of C$1.84 per share, according to LSEG data.

($1 = 1.4007 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Chizu Nomiyama )

((Ateev.Bhandari@thomsonreuters.com;))