Big banks get set for higher interest rates

Article Excerpt

The U.S. Federal Reserve has indicated that it will probably end its bond-purchasing program, known as quantitative easing, as early as October 2014. After that, the Fed may raise interest rates, particularly if inflation becomes a problem. Higher interest rates in the U.S. would likely push up rates in Canada and elsewhere, slowing demand for mortgages and car loans. However, Canada’s big banks continue to expand into feebased services, like wealth management, which are less sensitive to interest rates. We continue to like all five banks, but we prefer TD and Bank of Nova Scotia for new buying. TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $56 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $99.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) is Canada’s largest bank, with $896.5 billion of assets. On January 1, 2014, the bank became the primary credit card issuer for the hugely popular Aeroplan travel reward program run…