Banks still have appeal after recent jump

Article Excerpt

All five of Canada’s big banks have moved up strongly in the past year, as demand for new mortgages and loans remained strong. They have also built up their online and mobile banking operations, which will cut their future operating costs. We like all of them, but TD and Bank of Nova Scotia are our favourites for new buying. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $88 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $132.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.7; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) paid $5.5 billion U.S. in cash and shares for Los Angeles-based City National Bank in November 2015. That firm lends to both wealthy individuals and businesses in the entertainment, technology and health-care industries. Thanks to this purchase, the U.S. now supplies 22% of Royal’s revenue. Canada (62%) and other countries (16%) account for the rest of its revenue. The bank also recently sold its home and auto insurance business to…