TORONTO (Reuters) - It's a problem most of the world's bankers would love to have in 2009.

Canadian banks are expected to post weaker quarterly results when they kick off their reporting season on Wednesday.

Yet unlike many US and European lenders — ravaged by the global financial crisis, forced to beg for government aid and dogged by rumours of nationalisation — Canada's banks are actually expected to turn a profit.

The country's banking system was ranked last year as the world's soundest by the World Economic Forum. Analysts said the Canadian industry's conservative lending practices, which helped it avoid the write-downs and losses seen at firms like Bank of America Corp and UBS AG, should ensure a profitable first quarter.

But they also warn investors shouldn't be complacent, predicting profitability may well deteriorate during the remainder of 2009 as Canada sinks further into recession.

"From the perspective of somebody who resides in Europe or somewhere where the banking system is progressively more strained, it might almost seem a bit alien to look at the Canadian system," said Craig Fehr, financial services equity analyst at Edward Jones.

"My expectation is that we are going to see earnings in the first quarter and for 2009 ... but I think that there are a lot of headwinds."

Canada's Big Six lenders — Toronto-Dominion Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia — report results between February 25 and March 3.