David Fingold
Lloyds TSB Group PLC
LYG-N
DON'T BUY
Oct 29, 2018
He sold in 2013/14 because cross selling did not work. They were going to increase returns to shareholders and that did not materialize. As a British bank they are in a better position than a European bank. But he does not want to be a British bank because the American markets have access to your capital. He thinks the outperformance of non-Canadian banks is probably over.
He would lump it into European banks. It is part of the EU until BREXIT happens. The European bank has done nothing in terms of normalizing rates. BREXIT may help them more than other EU banks.
There is so much regulation in Europe they are becoming more like utilities. They are required to hold larger reserves, for example. US banks for reemerged faster than European banks only because they hit the crisis two years earlier. The European economy is slow, but high-quality banks like this one could be a good quality buy. They are raising dividends as well.
Will it go up after Brexit? Used to own it maybe till 2015. He expected them to release capital and raise their dividend, but they didn't that much. They were unsuccessful in cross-selling their clients across mortgages, lines of credit and investment accounts. Overall, LYG hasn't done well since then.
More of a UK bank. Suffered because of Brexit and insurance policies they sold in 2008. One of best retail franchises around. Sold of most international assets. Cleaned up balance sheet, restructured. Good yield. Time to get into UK banks at a low multiple before Brexit gets solved.
Brexit? If you are buying a UK bank, this is a good one. It trades just below NAV. The EU looks they might give until January to complete Brexit. This would cause the UK pound to strengthen. It would be a good buy here.
All the European banks are struggling with a negative yield curve and spot rates negative. Brexit will solve itself, they will probably leave, and then things will go back to normal. He would position for that if you believe things will stabilize.
It's much more of a retail bank in the UK. Cheap now, trading at 1x book. Nobody knows what'll happen, but there's a feeling that Brexit will finally happen. With LYG, you're betting on the UK. Good time to buy now at low valuations.
The consensus is that the UK will have a successful exit at the end of the month. With that, there is a backdrop where the political overhang will be removed and the economy has a chance to restructure and the situation afterwards will probably be better. LYG-T is primarily exposed to UK companies.
In the US and UK, much more competition than in Canada. Think about 0% interest levels in Europe, plus not paying a dividend. If there's a bailout, these stocks are going to run. But it's risky. All the banks are going to be challenged, regardless of geography.
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He sold in 2013/14 because cross selling did not work. They were going to increase returns to shareholders and that did not materialize. As a British bank they are in a better position than a European bank. But he does not want to be a British bank because the American markets have access to your capital. He thinks the outperformance of non-Canadian banks is probably over.