Canadian banks will gain from U.S. tax cuts

Article Excerpt

Royal Bank and Bank of Montreal now generate a significant portion of their earnings in the U.S. The recent changes to the U.S. tax code hurt their latest earnings. Still, going forward, the lower tax rates should spur higher earnings for their U.S. operations. That will give each more cash to keep raising its dividend. BANK OF MONTREAL $102 (Toronto symbol BMO; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 642.5 million; Market cap: $65.5 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.bmo.com) is Canada’s fourth-largest bank, with assets of $727.9 billion (as of January 31, 2018). Canadian retail banking operations supply 42% of the bank’s earnings, while the U.S. branches contribute 20%. Bank of Montreal gets another 20% of its earnings from its capital markets operations, which sell brokerage and securities-trading services. The remaining 18% of earnings comes from wealth management services. The bank last raised its quarterly dividend by 3.3% with the February 2018 payment. Investors now receive $0.93 a share instead of $0.90….