Bank Robbery: Time to buy the banks?

The bank sector peaked in March 2015, at the time almost all the banks had outperformed the All Ordinaries accumulation index since the market lows in 2009 and 2011. The recent falls have lost in some cases the outperformance built over five if not 10 years. The rather remarkable charts are those of Westpac and the CBA. Everybody always asks why the CBA is on the higher PE, this makes it pretty obvious. The CBA results are coming up next month. It will be an interesting window on the rest of the sector. If the sector can only get over its worries there are 8% to 11% yields available now. The problem is that no-one believes them, especially after the ANZ dividend cut last April. I can’t see myself recommending anyone sell the banks at these levels but the risks remain and the momentum is not good. Read my summary of the Australian banks, 'Bank Robbery': (VIEW LINK)