Columbia Banking System Inc (COLB)

(A Top Pick Jan 16/15. Up 11.76%.) When buying US banks you have to realize that they don’t generate as much of their revenue from the retail consumer the same as Canadian banks do. The larger banks are right across all states, and when looking at the US recovery, it is quite patchy. In regional banks, you can really cherry pick the regions that are growing. This one is in the Pacific Northwest where he is seeing growth in wages and population.

The idea is to take advantage of where the consumer is going to be growing. They are going to be going to their local bank to get a new credit card, increase their mortgage, borrow against their home or get a car loan. The bank stands to benefit from this. This bank is primarily in the right regions, Pacific Northwest, which would include Seattle, Washington and Portland. All 3 were in the top 10 list of fastest growing regions in the US. There is growth in terms of population, income and employment. Dividend yield of 2.55%.