A: Thanks for the question.

I like Bank of Queensland and think there is quite good upside in the stock. The new management team seems to be making a good go of it, and provided there aren’t further write-downs in respect of some of their old commercial property exposures, I can see value around the current levels. Minor and regional banks are probably going to do better in stronger equity markets – and also if the economy starts to make some headway and the demand for credit starts to increase.

According to FN Arena, the broker consensus price target for BOQ is currently $9.48. Sentiment is neutral.

Macquarie is not a group I profess to understand well – so I tend to stay away from the stock. When the stock was trading around $20 and totally our of favour with the market, I could see some reasonable value, particularly on a “worst case” break-up basis. Above $40, I am not sure that it offers that much appeal.

Again, Macquarie is a stock that will do well in strong equity markets. If you really think the global economy is going to accelerate, investment banks such as Macquarie will do well.

The consensus broker price target for Macquarie is $42.13. Sentiment is marginally positive.

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