STOCKCHASE

Shifting to a US bank? This bank is a huge favourite of deep value investors because the balance sheet is not that bad a shape. Opportunity for volume growth is very poor. With US banks, there will be a fair number of headlines where stress tests are going to come due in March. You might consider US Bancorp (USB-N).

2012-02-02

SELL

1.580

Was forced into a marriage that it didn't want during the financial crisis of 08-09. Raised a ton of equity. Operationally, it is turning the corner and the British economy is stabilizing. It is now a favourite of deep value investors. If you own, consider switching to Standard Chartered Bank (London Stock Exchange).

2011-11-17

PAST TOP PICK

1.820

(A Top Pick Nov 25/11. Down 54.01%.) Still likes.

2011-11-07

Comment

1.870

Benj Gallander

On his watch list. Could possibly buy except that he already has 5 financial stocks. Would also like further clarity on it. Has potential of a huge return. If you own, consider the possibility of tax loss selling. Also look closely at their debt loads.

2011-11-03

BUY

2.170

Exposure to continental Europe is very limited. Strictly a retail banking business in the UK plus commercial banking. Made a big acquisition in 2008. Will be volatile, but over the long term, these are the times to own these kinds of companies. 46% owned by the UK government. Trading at a discount to book.

2011-10-06

DON'T BUY

1.940

Gavin Graham

Had exposure to the blow up in 2008-2009. Had been pressured by the British government into buying HBOS. You won’t get a dividend and there is a possibility of further dilution.

2011-09-09

TOP PICK

2.100

Trades at 50% of its BV. Doesn't have a yield right now but will be paying a yield in 2012. Did a massive acquisition and bought HBOS. Went from about 25% market share in retail banking to about 50%. Cheap. Good earnings potential.

2011-09-02

DON'T BUY

2.080

Karl Berger

Retail perspective is all that would draw him to this one. You have to understand its exposure to sovereign debt and to other banks that have that exposure. There would have to be some compelling aspects to their story.

2011-08-30

DON'T BUY

2.120

This is a favourite stock of deep value investors because it has a forced marriage that is part of the banking crisis of 2007-2008 in Britain. Proponents point to formalized earnings levels that are healthy. A better alternative would be Standard Chartered, which is on the London exchange.

2011-08-11

PAST TOP PICK

2.980

(Top Pick Jun 24/10, Down 16.12%) You still have a good opportunity to make lots of money. They have a great franchise. If you can buy it at these levels you will do very well with it.

2011-06-23

PAST TOP PICK

3.480

(A Top Pick May 19/10. Up 12.7%.) Retail bank. Great restructuring story in Europe. UK government owns 42%. Great time to be Buying it.

2011-05-13

DON'T BUY

3.900

Richard Fogler

Bought HBOS just before it went bankrupt in the credit crises. This got them into significant difficulty. Refocused. Good bank in retail banking and their insurance company are doing pretty well. HBOS is trying to get out of their mortgage problems and that is coming along. You better be a long-term investor on this one.

2011-04-14

DON'T BUY

3.700

David Driscoll

In rising inflation, banks can get hurt, so be careful. Some of the important metrics are 1) efficiency ratio (handling costs), 2) tier 1 capital ratio (now that the Basil 3 rules are coming in to play), 3) ROE and 4) percentage of non-performing assets (should be 2% or less). This one has high efficiency ratios, deposit growth and loan growth are missing and Tier one ratios are in line with US banks.

2011-03-31

PAST TOP PICK

3.880

(Top Pick Jan 18/10, Up 3.07%) He said it would be volatile, but it is one of the better restructuring stories in Europe. It’s a long-term story. The UK gov’t is going to be selling their shares so there will be some pressure on it.

2011-03-24

BUY

4.220

Paul Gardner, CFA

UK Bank. Came close to dying and were coerced to buy HBOS when they were going bankrupt. One of the largest depositor banks, which gives them some stability. Trading at half times book value. Feels the recovery is in place. Volatile so when the stock market goes down, this goes down a lot. Expect it is worth 30%-40% more in 4 or 5 years.

2011-02-23

DON'T BUY

4.160

Rick Stuchberry

If you are really positive on the European theatre, this one has lots of leverage. Too much of risk profile. (See Top Picks.)

2011-02-07

PAST TOP PICK

4.180

(A Top Pick Jan 18/10. Up 11.58%. ) From a restructuring story this is the European bank you want to own. Great retail franchise and is a credible well run bank. Still a Buy.

2010-12-23

TOP PICK

4.020

Fallen about 10%-12% in the last little while because people feel their exposure to Ireland, which is about $27 billion of which about two fifths is commercial property with reserves against that of about $5 billion. Good retail franchise is about 15% to 18% ROE. Many positive things are happening.

2010-11-25

STRONG BUY

4.640

Great company. Would have been a top pick but has picked it too often. Probably worth $10 in the next 3-5 years. Will have one of the best retail franchises in the UK. Expect they will pay a dividend in the new year.

2010-09-23

TOP PICK

4.150

A purely retail bank in the UK. First-half numbers had revenues of little bit higher, margins are stabilizing and loan losses were down considerably. Expect they will start paying a dividend in the 2nd half of 2011. Trades below Book.

2010-08-26

WEAK BUY

4.400

Steven Conville

An opportunity here for growth if there is a turnaround, specifically in England, and there is no further global deterioration. Charts and his gut feelings tell him this is not a quality investment, but more of a speculative play.

2010-08-13

DON'T BUY

4.800

British bank that was partially nationalized. Still a lot of balance sheet risks. Other British banks, such as Standard Chartered (STAN-LSE) and HSBC (HBC-N) whose balance sheets are much stronger.

2010-08-10

BUY

3.890

Benj Gallander

Kicked the tires recently. Did not buy. It could end up doing very, very well. Could be a huge upside. Is a great contrarian play.

2010-07-13

TOP PICK

3.410

Good restructuring play. One of the best retail banks in the UK. 24% return on equity in the retail franchise alone. Forced to acquire HBOS in 2008 making them a much larger retail bank. Selling off some HBOS assets on the corporate banking side. Did a large rights issue that kept UK government below 50% and allowed them to run their own company. Can make a lot of money over the next 3-5 years.

2010-06-24

TOP PICK

3.300

British retail bank. Made an acquisition in 2008-2009, which made them much. Trades below Book Value and add about 8X next year's earnings. Good restructuring story.

2010-05-19

DON'T BUY

4.110

Steven Conville

Not a bank he would own but has become a buzz stock for people looking for an opportunity because it was so beaten down. Greek situation shouldn't have too much. If Portugal, then Italy have to go through the same there will be some jitters in European banks. Speculative.

2010-05-03

DON'T BUY

4.220

Domestically oriented British bank and the UK government own about 2/5 of the shares. A number of analysts can see rapid improvement in the loan book. Wouldn't be overly keen to own this one.

2010-04-29

TOP PICK

4.180

One of the best performing retail banks in Britain for many years. Did an in-market merger very cheaply and these are always very cost-effective for banks. Margins have improved and loan losses are looking better. One of the best restructuring place in Europe.

2010-04-22

DON'T BUY

3.960

David Driscoll

Would prefer buying a basket, such as an ETF of the undervalued banks rather than cherry picking each one. This one had to do a rights issue last November on a 3 to 1 basis, which diluted the earnings 3 times so learning Zen are going to be growing at a steady clip.

2010-04-07

DON'T BUY

3.850

David Burrows

More of a value Buy and you are buying a turnaround. They have been very close to the mat a couple of times over the last year. Even the technicals are questionable. Speculative.

2010-03-31

TOP PICK

3.850

One of the best banking restructuring stories in Europe. At its core it is really a retail bank. Not involved with investment banking. Forced to acquire HBOS in 2008, which gave them lots of cost synergies. Just announced they will be profitable in 2010. Could possibly go up 30%-40% in current environment. Cheap.

2010-03-25

DON'T BUY

3.230

Not in a hurry to put any money into it. They were forced to take on an insurance company and the stock dropped.

2010-03-09

TOP PICK

3.200

They were forced by the gov’t to make and acquisition and had to do a huge issue. Feb 28th we should see revenue growth goes up a little bit and cost structure comes down due to synergies with the acquisition. It’s a great retail bank without a lot of risk.

2010-02-18

DON'T BUY

3.390

Canadian banking industry is the most attractive. Standard Chartered would be a better choice internationally.

2010-01-26

TOP PICK

3.750

Great retail bank, not investment bank. Were returning about 24% on equity prior to their purchase of HBOS. A bad deal but they were the only ones who could buy it. It was a reasonable deal, which allowed them to increase their franchise. On the longer-term it is going to turn out to do incredibly well for them.

2010-01-18

DON'T BUY

7.030

Can’t get excited about this one. Situation in the UK hasn't improved that much. Also wouldn't buy a US bank.

2009-09-11

Comment

13.530

Kevin O'Leary

Always a challenge given its ADR. Prefers to buy companies in the actual exchanges and hedge up the currency risk himself. Financial services have been a really tough place. Stock looks identical to 30 other US banking stocks. If you believe there will be a government bailout, it is probably a good entry point. He is currently underweight financials.

2008-11-04

Comment

30.650

Almost a pure domestic bank in Britain along with insurance. Hasn't had too much problem because of bad paper.

2008-05-28

BUY

33.900

Pretty much a pure UK bank. Also has a life insurance company. On the very conservative side of banks. Well capitalized. Loan portfolio has been very conservative. Sold off in sympathy with global banks. Just reported excellent earnings and raised their dividend.

2008-03-10

PARTIAL BUY

31.820

A largely domestic UK bank. Also has a large insurance company, Scottish Widows. Has been largely untainted by subprime bad mortgages, but has gone down with the banks. UK banks in general have been weak. Eventually it will be a great one to own but there is no rush to buy any financials right now. Pick away at it here.

2008-02-11

PAST TOP PICK

40.390

(A Past Top Pick. Dec 5/06. Down 5%.) 4.5% dividend. Prefers the English banks to the US ones. Extremely well run domestic bank. Doesn't have the problems of the other banks but was guilty by association. Still a Buy.

2007-12-03

TOP PICK

44.930

LLoyds bank. Sells at a lower multiple then North American banks, about 10 times next years earnings. 6% yield. Next year will be the fastest growing bank in the UK. Biggest risk is currency.

2007-06-12

BUY

45.920

John O'Connell, CFA

For the last number of years, they have been disposing of non-core properties and projects and are getting to be a reasonable valuation. Likes the British pound. Good dividend yield. Fairly heavy retail deposit base.

2007-05-29

BUY

46.260

Gavin Graham

A perennial takeover target, but you don't buy it for that, but because they are actually doing a good job.

2007-05-22

BUY

46.600

Has a high dividend, so he has it in some of his income accounts. Has been turning around some of its operations, so has good upside. Will be vulnerable as a takeover candidate. Expecting they will be increasing the dividend over the next year or two.

2007-05-18

BUY

46.470

David Burrows

Unless it was trading at below 41 it's a great way to buy a fund outside of Canada.

2007-05-16

BUY

46.290

Would rather own this than a Canadian bank. A yield stock with growth potential.

2007-05-01

BUY

44.010

Better than the Canadian banks with higher growth, better dividend yield and lower multiples.

2007-03-28

PAST TOP PICK

41.640

(A Top Pick Dec 5/06. No change.) It was higher, but pulled back on reported earnings and when they didn't raise their dividends. Very attractively priced for investors looking for banks. A takeover candidate.

2007-03-13

TOP PICK

42.740

Yield of over 6%. Expecting further dividend increases. Valuations of UK banks are lower than Canadian banks. Has been turning around its insurance operations.

2006-12-05

BUY

39.470