The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Sept. 4, edition that Canaccord Genuity analyst Matthew Lee notes that "fading" net interest margin expansion may slow income growth for Canadian banks soon. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Lee says in a note: "For the second straight quarter, Canadian P&C NIM was largely flat across the group, with the benefit of tractoring/hedging being dampened by a highly competitive market in both loans and deposits. When we look at the composition of NII growth, we see a wide range of drivers with CIBC propelled primarily by margin expansion while National Bank of Canada has moved in the other direction. In our view, investors appeared more receptive to banks delivering a more down-the-fairway mix of growth, combining modest loan growth with stable-to-improving margins. Cost discipline is becoming an increasingly important source of earnings growth. Group operating leverage improved to 3.5 per cent in Q3, the strongest result in several quarters, with every bank generating positive operating leverage." Mr. Lee continues to rate Bank of Montreal "buy," with a $271 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $261.73.