Top banks can handle the current turmoil

Article Excerpt

Uncertainty over new tariffs will probably force Canada’s big banks to set aside more funds for the potential growth in bad loans. However, each of the Big 5 remains well capitalized, which will help to absorb any credit losses. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $166 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $232.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) continues to benefit from its March 2024 acquisition of the Canadian operations of U.K.-based HSBC Holdings plc (New York symbol HSBC) for $15.5 billion. So far, eliminating overlapping operations has cut $524 million from Royal’s annual costs. It still expects to realize annual cost savings of $740 million by the end of the second year. In the fiscal 2025 first quarter, ended January 31, 2025, Royal’s revenue rose 24.1%, to $16.74 billion from $13.49 billion a year earlier. The new HSBC operations contributed $716 million to that gain…