Of note, the banks will be a consistent rotation in a dollar-cost averaging strategy for me throughout my investing career. With that being said, policymakers have essentially turned what should have been a bank tailwinds (rising rates) into a headwind. Raising rates is good for banks, until you raise them rapidly to the point the country goes into a recession, borrowing slows, and bank earnings fall.
This is the main fear that is keeping banks cheap right now. Whether or not a recession happens remains to be seen. To be honest, I wouldn't mind the banks staying at depressed price levels for a year or two. It allows for great accumulation periods.
Canadian Western Bank has always been a "meh" option for me. The company is too hyper-focused in Western Canada, particularly oil and gas. nearly 65% of the company's loan book comes from Alberta and BC. The company only has a CET1 ratio of 8.9%. This is above regulatory minimums yes, but is nowhere near a company like TD Bank. In fact, it is significantly lower than all Big 5 banks and National Bank. If you're unaware of what the CET1 ratio is, I'll drop a link to an article that will help you out: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/common-equity-tier-1-cet1.asp#:~:text=The%20CET1%20ratio%20compares%20a,taken%20first%20from%20Tier%201
But overall, the higher the CET1 ratio, the better capitalized the bank.
The company is guiding to a mid single digit reduction in earnings per share this year, which is likely adding to the pressure as well.
Overall, I don't necessarily view Canadian Western Bank as a poor company. But when you give me the Big 5 and National Bank, I'd buy all 6 of them before CWB.