Banks Still Have Long-term Appeal

Article Excerpt

All five of Canada’s biggest banks have been exceeding investor expectations since at least the mid-1990s. Investors always worry too much about the impact on the banks of each new ripple in interest rates and business statistics. Bank profits and loan losses do go through swings, of course. In the late 1990s, banks suffered along with the economic turmoil in Asia. Early in this decade, they suffered due to problems in telecom and other areas. But when the problems end, you’ll find the banks have managed to contain their losses and have begun a new profit expansion. All five banks are still cheap in relation to earnings, and they provide above-average yields. Every Canadian investor should own one of them, if not several. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $56 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $72.8 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is the largest of Canada’s big five banks, with total assets of $589.1 billion. It…