It's always been a tough call to make when trying to pick a more promising investment bet from among Canada’s banking majors, especially the top two – the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) and the Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD).

By Vasudha Sharma

Let’s examine which of the two could be a better bet for investors right now.

Net Income

RBC, Canada’s largest lender, reported a stellar first quarter this fiscal, clocking in a 24% jump in its net income that totaled over $3 billion. The growth was driven largely by its personal and commercial banking business. RBC’s booming wealth management arm and its capital markets division also pulled up its numbers.

TD, in comparison, posted a lackluster 6% increase in its net income at $2.4 billion in Q1/2017. It did beat Street expectations, but the margin was clearly slim.

[With a 24% jump in its net income for RBC vs. just 6% for TD it is no contest. RBC wins.]

Return on Equity

Another measure of profitability that investors need to focus on is how much return on equity (ROE) they can expect from these two stocks.

For instance, in Q1/2017, RBC generated the second highest ROE in the Canadian banking pack at 16.7%. This is well above the sector average and a 120 basis point jump from Q4/2016, indicative of consistency.

Compare this to TD, which stands second last among the ‘Big Five’ with a ROE of 12.76%.

The higher the return on equity, the more money the bank is making and, clearly, RBC is the more lucrative option here.

Dividend Yield

The other metric that income-seeking investors must assess banks on, are their dividend yields.

RBC has been consistent in doling out exciting dividends to its investors over the years. In Q1/2017, RBC hiked its payout by 5% to $0.87/share, the largest increase in two and a half years and a sign of the management’s confidence that growth at RBC will remain on an upswing. It should matter to investors that RBC boasts the highest rate of dividend growth over the last five years among Canada’s ‘Big Five’ banks.

At TD, the Q1/2017 dividend was increased by 9% to $0.60/share. This is TD’s seventh straight year of quarterly payouts and in terms of the dividend yield, both banks are somewhat comparable.

When you do a deep dive and compare the dividend payout ratio, you spot a clear winner. RBC‘s payout ratio stands at 46% while TD’s is at 41%.

Share Buybacks

On the sidelines, RBC is also aggressively repurchasing its shares from the market. That means every investor gets to enjoy a bigger piece of the pie even as earnings per share get a bump up.

Credit Quality

Credit quality is another crucial check for investors looking for returns from bank stocks.

Going by its Q1/2017 results, analysts have inferred that RBC’s credit is in top shape, especially since it posted a significant decline in its exposure to bad loans in the energy sector. RBC’s liquidity measure, the CET1 also soared by 20 basis points, giving the lender more elbowroom to play with its capital.

TD’s credit quality in comparison to RBC’s is not as spotless. TD increased its provisions for credit losses (PCL) in a stark contrast to its peers who across the board have lowered their cash stockpile for bad loans.

Price-to-Book Ratio

Investors would also find it useful to keep a track of the price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) of the two stocks. It’s an intuitive measure of how much value the market places on a company during the good times and the bad.

RBC’s P/B ratio of 2.2 versus TD’s 1.85 shows us the confidence the marketplaces on the former. Perhaps that why RBC’s premium valuation seems justified. 

Sales Practices

Numbers aside, in light of the recent allegations of illegal sales practices made against TD, Bank of Montreal and Bank of Nova Scotia, investors must keep a close watch on what eventually comes out of the probe that the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has launched into the sector.

There is industry talk that any reputational damage to the TD brand would impact both its earnings and its premium valuation. Analysts are even accounting for a higher risk and have downgraded their rating on TD from ‘outperform’ to ‘sector perform’. Investors must factor in any possible fallout and make their moves accordingly.