Scotiabank offers value and yield

Article Excerpt

Despite the economic disruption brought on by COVID-19, we still like the long-term prospects for investors in Canada’s top banks. As they were during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, these institutions are well prepared and well capitalized to handle the current shock. We still see Bank of Nova Scotia as a top pick for its focused international business and the resilience of its diversified revenue streams. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $68.68 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $83.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.scotiabank.com) set aside $1.13 billion in its fourth quarter ended October 31, 2020, to cover potential future loan losses. That’s up 50.2% from $753 million a year earlier. The increase mainly came from its operations in Latin America, where the spread of COVID-19 began later than in North America. However, the latest provisions are down 48.1% from the third quarter. Due to those higher provisions, the bank’s earnings in the quarter fell 20.3%, to $1.78 billion,…