ING Groep NV (ING)

This has had a good run and he is probably going to trim over the course of this year, and move the money into more capital markets focused banks in Europe such as a UBS or Credit Suisse. Dividend yield of about 6%.

Liked this during the recession as it was badly beaten down. This is a company that will do better with interest rates going up.

It was on the watch list and then it moved up quite a bit. European banks could be a good thing right now. Canadian banks are of zero interest to him. ING-N could be a good one but he does not follow it.

This keeps looking better and better. It is at the front end of technology in the European banking system. They got caught in the rigmarole of 2008, and had to borrow money from the Dutch government. They quickly liquidated in Canada and the US and paid the Dutch government back, and excelled on their new technology platform and are able to deliver costs much cheaper than the other European banks. Thinks it will be the leader in Europe. Dividend yield of 4.77%. (Analysts’ price target is $13.89.)

Feels this is fairly valued. A great bank and a really well run organization. They have had a lack of interest rate sensitivity, which has been very good for them for the last several years. If interest rates start going back up, he is looking for banks that have interest rate sensitivity.

This bank got itself in trouble during the financial crisis. Took a $10 billion-euro loan from the Dutch government. They’ve sold off all of the bad stuff, paid off all their debt. They are purely a retail bank, unlike the rest. Trading at 10X earnings, less than tangible BV, and a 5%+ dividend yield easily covered by earnings. He forecasts an earnings growth in the high single digits to 10% in the next few years. Compellingly cheap. Dividend yield of 3.97%. (Analysts’ price target is $14.47.)

Since Trump has been elected financial shares have benefited a great deal. 1.) The president elect is talking about easing financial regulations, which would make it better for companies like this. 2.) When interest rates go up, the banking side and insurance side of things have the ability to invest with a greater amount of spread. He thinks there are better opportunities than this, but it is not a bad idea.

This is interesting. They had to get money from the Dutch government to survive. They took the money and then they did the consolidation before they were told to. They sold ING Direct in Canada and Voya Financial in the US, cleaned it all up and got in front of the curve, in front of the regulators. You now have a high-tech banking system. We are now starting to see some growth come in. Dividend yield of 4.4%.

(A Top Pick Oct 5/15. Down 17.27%.) The only European bank that is problem free. They are in 2 countries that we never read about, the Netherlands and Belgian. It is a retail bank, not an investment bank. Just came out with another fantastic quarter. The stock is selling at less than 10X earnings. A pristine bank with zero problems. Dividend yield of 6%, but it is sustainable. This is getting hammered with a whole European banking sector.

HSBC Holdings (HSBC-N) or ING Groep (ING-N)? Two very different companies. This one is much more of a retail bank. They are both cheap, but the issue becomes if we get out of this global slump, is where does the growth come from. If he had to pick one, he would choose this one, because being a good, strong retail bank is a very good business if it is done well.

One of the few EU banks in good shape. There will be dividend increases over the next 12 months. This is about as clean as they come. A hefty yield. The just started paying it earlier this year.

He really likes the financials. This sector is his number 1 weighting in his funds. He had an analyst in a while ago who was pounding the table on this one. This is a good one to enjoy ROE improvement and rising interest rates.

They have paid back their loan to the Dutch government and are paying a dividend again. Almost a 4% dividend that will grow. They are in the Netherlands and Belgium. There are no capital issues. It should be smooth sailing ahead.

They finally repaid their last piece to the Dutch government and have started dividends for the 1^st time in about 5-6 years. The dividend has lots of room to grow. He sees their earnings growth heading upwards to the double digit range for the next few years. He is still buying for new clients.

First dividend since 2007. They completed paying off the Dutch government. They also had to spin out their insurance businesses. Going forward ING will just be a bank. He thinks they will pay a 4% dividend soon. They got rid of their problems a number of years ago. It is actually a really cheap bank.