May 27 (Reuters) - Canadian lender Bank of Nova Scotia ( BNS )

reported a fall in second-quarter profit on Tuesday,

mainly due to an increase in bad loan provisions.

Uncertainty fueled by rapid changes in U.S. trade policy, as

well as fears of an economic slowdown, has hurt loan growth at

banks and raised fears of customers defaulting on their existing

loans.

The company's Canadian banking unit, its primary business,

reported a quarterly net income of C$613 million, down 31% from

a year ago, as provisions for credit losses jumped nearly 39% to

C$1.4 billion.

On an adjusted basis, Scotiabank reported a profit of C$2.07

billion ($1.50 billion), or C$1.52 per share, for the quarter

ended April 30, compared with C$2.1 billion, or C$1.58 per

share, in the year-ago period.

($1 = 1.3760 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by

Devika Syamnath)