We have written several times on WFC’s inability to grow EPS and its ongoing regulatory problems. That said, even we were surprised that on Janet Yellen’s last day as Chair of the Federal Reserve (“Fed”), the central bank filed a consent order against Wells Fargo (“WFC”) requiring the bank take a number of extraordinary steps to improve corporate governance. While WFC does so, the Fed has…
Commentary: HUM
U.S. Banks: High/Low Growth Areas in One Map (i.e., “Follow the Sun”)
In banking, as in most businesses, geography matters. Population growth supports GDP growth, which in turn drives revenue growth. In general, U.S. bank investors divide the U.S. into six distinct regions: the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and West (see chart at the end of this comment). Within these regions, there are 53 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with a population greater than 1 million and nearly…
U.S. Bank Mergers in Two Charts
In the Hamilton Capital U.S. Mid-Cap Financials ETF (USD) (TSX: HFMU.U) and the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (TSX: HBG) our exposure to the U.S. mid-cap banking sector is ~65% and ~48%, respectively (owing to the sector’s low dividend yields, Hamilton Capital Global Financials Yield ETF has just 10% exposure to U.S. banks).
Notes from the Field: “Follow the Sun” / Catching up with U.S. Banks in Phoenix
One of our themes for the U.S. banks is to “follow the sun”, which refers to our emphasis on banks domiciled in the higher population growth states/metropolitan statistical area[1] (“MSAs”). Every single one of the 15 faster growing large MSAs (i.e., those with populations in excess of 1.5 million people) are located in the (sunny) Southeast, Southwest, and West.
Notes from the Field: Everything’s Peachy in Atlanta
A recent trip to Atlanta gave us a chance to meet with executives from several publicly traded banks headquartered in Georgia, as well as some of their commercial customers and a local land broker. Seven months after the election of an administration with ambitions of pro-growth policies and reforms that renewed investor interest in U.S. bank stocks, the trip presented a good opportunity to check in…
Notes from the Field: U.S. Mid-Cap Bank Meetings in New York
We recently attended a U.S. financial services conference in New York City and had the opportunity to meet with executives from seven mid-cap banks. These meetings were of particular importance to us, as the Hamilton Capital Global Bank ETF (HBG) has ~46% of NAV invested in the U.S., with the majority of that in banks with less than US$50 bln in assets. Given the relatively low…
U.S. Banks: Another Tough Quarter for Mega-Caps as All Four Experience Negative Q/Q EPS Growth (and Four-Year Near-Zero Growth Trend Persists)
On February 7th, 2017, we will be launching the Hamilton Capital Global Financials Yield ETF (HFY). It is the aspiration of HFY to generate “REIT-like yields, with positive rate sensitivity”. Therefore, we anticipate that HFY would have close to zero exposure to the four mega-cap banks primarily while their yields are very low. There are nearly 400 global financials with yields in excess of 5%, and…
Notes from Florida Bank Tour: Commercial Real Estate Lending and M&A under the Microscope
We recently traveled to Florida to meet with a group of mid-cap banks. Of the 12 banks that participated on the trip, 9 are headquartered in Florida (2 Arkansas, 1 from New Jersey), and 10 are publicly-traded[1]. Of the publicly-traded banks, the median asset size is US$5.0 billion, the median market cap is US$841 million (US$1.5 billion average), and the median expected loan growth in 2016…