National Bank of Canada (NA-T)

100%. Are the paying a hefty multiple? Also yes. To build what CWB has would be extremely costly and risky. This way, they're getting a great asset at a reasonable price. Great operators.

If he was going to own national banks, he'd most likely own RY or NA. And if not, then the ZWB strategy is a good one; covered calls give you more upside; yield's around 7.5%; pretty good income stream.

Not a ton of growth in the Canadian market, and not a ton of growth in Canadian banks. Own them for the income more than upside growth.

Diversified. 40% of revenues come from traditional banking, 25% from wealth management, 25% from markets, 10% from specialty finance. Focused in Quebec. Well managed. Strong growth and profitability. Outperformed peers over last 5 years. 

CWB acquisition is a good fit -- increases size materially, diversifies geographically, adds commercial and wealth management exposure. Shares trading back offers a more attractive entry point.

In terms of risk, we should be glad it bought in Canada instead of US. Banks that have gone to the US to do acquisitions have been hit and miss. CWB is a durable bank, mainly commercial which is riskier. Interest rates pivoting could certainly help commercial and real estate holdings of CWB.

Cost of capital of the small CWB always high, but now maybe growth can be unleashed as part of a larger bank.

Because of the CWB acquisition, NA has come way down, so might be a good time to buy.

Has done very well. Benefited more than others from capital markets business, as opposed to traditional lending/deposit business. Capital markets results can be lumpy and tough to forecast. Hard to argue with its growth. International exposure in Cambodia, mostly in Quebec. He prefers a more national footprint.

As for a stock split, not something he focuses on. Whether your pizza is cut into 4 pieces or 8, it's still the same amount of pizza.

Very great stock with excellent technical analysis. Leader in the Canadian banking space. Would continue to recommend. Trend moving in excellent direction. Expecting market correction, but will be opportunity to buy more shares. 

If a Schedule 1 Canadian bank's dividend isn't safe, we have a big problem. The only one to ever cut was NA, but it was decades ago. Not in jeopardy.

Big runup. Pretty well set up here. Quebec economy is pretty vibrant. Likes the company, but prefers TD and RY.

Best-performing Canadian bank over last 10 years, right up there with RY. Wants to keep payout ratio at 50% or less. Raised dividend because earnings kept growing. 2024 won't see such earnings growth, with prudent loan loss provisions. Market's sniffing out better earnings for 2025. 10x PE, and dividend will keep growing.

It doesn't get as much attention as the big five Canadian banks yet has out-performed them based on the share price 5, 10 and 15 years ago. This should continue. It has doubled in the last 5 years and that is twice the total return of the Canadian bank index. It doesn't do much business in the U.S. which is a good thing. He is overweight.

NA is less exposed to mortgage renewals than other Canadian banks, because the housing prices in Quebec didn't rocket up like other areas of Canada. Also, the yield is great and the PE low. They are a little exposed on their proprietary trading, but they have a strong presence in Quebec. The best Canadian bank.

For the last year and a half, he's been incredibly defensive on the bank side. But you have to own something, because it's too big a sector not to.

He'd recommend NA. The most defensive of all the banks because they don't have to deal with mortgage issues. They do more custodial services and have an investment arm. Reasonable 1.2x price to book, PE around 9x. Outperformed all the other banks. Conservative.

He prefers BNS or TD. A good time, generally, to start looking at the banking sector to get back in.

Best performer of the Big 6, doing well on wealth management in custodial services. She chose banks that were more geographically diversified. Likes banks as a whole due to the pullback. Valuation is at a higher multiple than others. She's sticking with her choices, but has no problem adding a small position in this one.