"Canadian bank shares are trading at significantly higher levels than their U.S. or European rivals if you compare price-to-book-value ratios"

This is not entirely true nor does it signify what the author says. US Banks in general pay much lower dividends than Canadian banks - B of A 1.2%; Citi .95% v. BOM 3.76% - their lower price-to-book - BofA .93; Citi .83 v. BOM 1.46 reflects this. If you consider a US bank that pays a higher dividend, Wells Fargo, div is 2.74% and price-to-book is 1.39 - which looks much like BOM and other Canadian banks.

I don;t disagree that a recession will cause lower bank income and lower share prices - this is obvious and inevitable - but simplistically comparing one measure and making broad conclusions that are incorrect makes this article's conclusions suspect. C-, Mr. McGugan.