At the October 15, 2026 close, the Big Six Canadian banks' forward dividend yields ranged from 2.52% for Royal Bank to 3.53% for Scotiabank, an average of 2.81%. Every one of them yields less than it did a year ago. The banks did not cut their dividends; four of the six raised them twice in the past year, and the other two once. The yields fell because the share prices rose between 30.7% and 50.5%. Below are each bank's yield, recent dividend increases, payout ratio and past drawdowns, using Financial Modeling Prep market data, with the arithmetic shown.
Big Six dividend yields on October 15, 2026
Forward yield here means the most recently declared quarterly dividend, multiplied by four, divided by the October 15, 2026 closing price on the TSX. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.
| Bank | Close | Quarterly dividend | Annual rate | Forward yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank ($BNS.TO) | $129.22 | $1.14 | $4.56 | 3.53% |
| Bank of Montreal ($BMO.TO) | $235.42 | $1.71 | $6.84 | 2.91% |
| CIBC ($CM.TO) | $159.40 | $1.07 | $4.28 | 2.69% |
| TD Bank ($TD.TO) | $170.02 | $1.12 | $4.48 | 2.63% |
| National Bank ($NA.TO) | $204.32 | $1.32 | $5.28 | 2.58% |
| Royal Bank ($RY.TO) | $279.01 | $1.76 | $7.04 | 2.52% |
Example for Scotiabank: $1.14 x 4 = $4.56; $4.56 / $129.22 = 3.53%. On $10,000 invested at these prices, the annual dividend income would be about $353 from Scotiabank, $291 from BMO, $269 from CIBC, $264 from TD, $258 from National Bank and $252 from Royal Bank. The average yield across the six, weighting each equally, is 2.81%.
Why every yield is lower than a year ago
A dividend yield is a fraction, and over the past year the bottom of the fraction grew much faster than the top.
| Bank | Yield, Oct 15, 2025 | Yield, Oct 15, 2026 | Share price change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotiabank | 4.86% | 3.53% | +42.6% |
| TD Bank | 3.72% | 2.63% | +50.5% |
| Bank of Montreal | 3.62% | 2.91% | +30.7% |
| CIBC | 3.38% | 2.69% | +38.8% |
| National Bank | 3.11% | 2.58% | +34.5% |
| Royal Bank | 2.99% | 2.52% | +35.2% |
Year-ago yields use the quarterly dividend in effect then, times four, divided by the October 15, 2025 close. Take Royal Bank. A year ago its quarterly dividend was $1.54 and the shares closed at $206.30, a yield of $6.16 / $206.30 = 2.99%. Since then the dividend has risen to $1.76, a 14.3% increase. Had the share price stayed at $206.30, the yield would now be $7.04 / $206.30 = 3.41%. Instead the price rose to $279.01, and the yield fell to 2.52%.
That matters for anyone buying today. A falling yield after a big rally is not a warning sign about the dividend. But it does mean new money buys less income per dollar than it did a year ago, and that part of the past year's return came from a higher valuation that may not repeat.
Dividend increases: who raised, and by how much
The banks' fiscal years end on October 31, and in recent years they have tended to announce dividend changes alongside quarterly results. In the past 12 months, according to Financial Modeling Prep dividend records:
- Royal Bank: raised twice, from $1.54 to $1.64 (declared December 3, 2025) and to $1.76 (declared May 27, 2026).
- TD Bank: raised twice, from $1.05 to $1.08 (December 4, 2025) and to $1.12 (May 28, 2026).
- Bank of Montreal: raised twice, from $1.63 to $1.67 (December 4, 2025) and to $1.71 (May 27, 2026).
- National Bank: raised twice, from $1.18 to $1.24 (December 3, 2025) and to $1.32 (May 26, 2026).
- CIBC: raised once, from $0.97 to $1.07 (December 4, 2025), a 10.3% increase.
- Scotiabank: raised once, from $1.10 to $1.14 (December 2, 2025).
Over three years the gap between them is wider. Comparing the latest quarterly dividend with the one paid in autumn 2023: Royal Bank is up 30.4% ($1.35 to $1.76), National Bank 29.4% ($1.02 to $1.32), CIBC 23.0% ($0.87 to $1.07), TD 16.7% ($0.96 to $1.12), BMO 16.3% ($1.47 to $1.71) and Scotiabank 7.5% ($1.06 to $1.14).
Scotiabank's highest yield comes with the slowest growth. It paid $1.06 a quarter for eight straight payments, from July 2023 to April 2025, before raising. A higher starting yield with slower growth is a trade-off, not a free lunch.
Payout ratios: how much room each dividend has
The payout ratio is the share of earnings paid out as dividends. A lower number leaves more room to keep raising the dividend, or to absorb a bad year without a cut. Trailing-12-month ratios from Financial Modeling Prep data:
| Bank | Payout ratio (TTM) |
|---|---|
| Royal Bank | 41.5% |
| CIBC | 42.6% |
| National Bank | 43.4% |
| TD Bank | 48.2% |
| Bank of Montreal | 55.9% |
| Scotiabank | 59.6% |
The pattern lines up with the dividend growth above. The three banks paying out the smallest share of earnings, Royal, CIBC and National, have raised their dividends fastest over three years. Scotiabank pays out the most and has raised the least. None of the six is near 100%, the level at which a company is paying out everything it earns.
The risk the yield does not show
Bank shares are not bonds. Over the five years to October 15, 2026, measured on closing prices, each bank's deepest fall from a high was:
- CIBC: -42.1% and Scotiabank: -41.4%, both bottoming on October 27, 2023
- Bank of Montreal: -33.0%, also bottoming on October 27, 2023
- TD Bank: -31.8%, bottoming on December 6, 2024
- Royal Bank: -27.3%, bottoming on October 27, 2023
- National Bank: -24.0%, bottoming on April 8, 2025
In the dividend records we reviewed, which run from mid-2023, none of the six cut its dividend; at worst, as with Scotiabank, the payment was held flat. That is the case for the Big Six as income holdings: the cheques kept coming while the share prices fell by a quarter to two-fifths. But an investor who needed to sell shares in October 2023 would have sold at a large loss. Buy bank stocks for income only with money you will not need to sell in a downturn.
A related risk is concentration. If you own a Canadian dividend ETF, you may already hold these banks. Vanguard's VDY, for example, had about 49% of its assets in the Big Six in mid-October 2026, as we show in our VDY vs XEI comparison.
How to use these numbers
- Compare yield and growth together. Scotiabank's 3.53% yield and Royal Bank's 2.52% are not directly comparable while Royal's dividend grows about four times as fast (30.4% against 7.5% over three years).
- Check the payout ratio. Lower ratios have gone with faster raises.
- Watch the December results. Fiscal-year results for the period ending October 31 have usually come with dividend announcements; last year's were declared between December 2 and December 4, 2025.
- Mind the account. Canadian bank dividends carry no foreign withholding tax in a TFSA, unlike US dividends, a cost we explain in our guide to US withholding tax in a TFSA.
For more on individual banks, see our look at Bank of Montreal's dividend case and, on the rate backdrop, why diverging Fed and Bank of Canada paths are weighing on the loonie. Daily coverage is in the Economy section and on the Wall Street Conservative front page.
FAQ
Which Canadian bank has the highest dividend yield?
Scotiabank, at 3.53% on the October 15, 2026 close ($4.56 a year on a $129.22 share). It also had the slowest dividend growth of the six over the past three years.
How often do Canadian banks pay dividends?
All six pay quarterly. Royal Bank's next payment, $1.76, has an ex-dividend date of October 26 and is payable November 24, 2026; Bank of Montreal's $1.71 goes ex-dividend October 30 and is payable November 26.
Have Canadian banks cut their dividends recently?
Not in the records we reviewed back to 2023. Scotiabank held its dividend at $1.06 for eight quarters before raising it; the other five raised theirs at least once a year.
Why are Canadian bank yields lower now?
Because share prices rose 30.7% to 50.5% in the year to October 15, 2026, faster than the dividends. Royal Bank's dividend rose 14.3% while its share price rose 35.2%.