Top banks stand to gain from lower rates

Article Excerpt

The Bank of Canada recently cut its benchmark lending rate, from 5.00% to 4.75%. More cuts seem likely as inflation continues to ease in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. Lower interest rates will help make it easier for mortgage holders and other borrowers re-finance their loans. That will put less pressure on Canada’s Big Five banks to put aside funds to cover potential bad loans, which should lift their earnings and give them more room for dividend increases. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $151 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $211.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) set aside $920 million to cover potential future loan losses in its fiscal 2024 second quarter, ended April 30, 2024. That’s up 53.3% from $600 million a year earlier. Part of that increase was due to Royal’s recent acquisition of the Canadian operations of U.K.-based HSBC…