Reviewing Skandinaviska (OTCMKTS:SVKEF) & China Merchants Bank (OTCMKTS:CIHKY)

China Merchants Bank (OTCMKTS:CIHKY) and Skandinaviska (OTCMKTS:SVKEF) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

China Merchants Bank has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Skandinaviska has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for China Merchants Bank and Skandinaviska, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
China Merchants Bank	0	0	0	0	0.00
Skandinaviska	0	1	1	0	2.50

Profitability

This table compares China Merchants Bank and Skandinaviska’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
China Merchants Bank	32.06%	12.04%	1.19%
Skandinaviska	20.41%	15.61%	0.86%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares China Merchants Bank and Skandinaviska”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
China Merchants Bank	$69.20 billion	2.27	$20.64 billion	$3.94	7.90
Skandinaviska	$23.09 billion	1.82	$4.70 billion	$1.75	11.80

China Merchants Bank has higher revenue and earnings than Skandinaviska. China Merchants Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Skandinaviska, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

China Merchants Bank beats Skandinaviska on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About China Merchants Bank

China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services. It operates through Wholesale Finance Business, Retail Finance Business, and Other Business segments. The company offers current, demand, time, call, savings, notice, and renminbi accounts. Its loan products include personal commercial real estate, consumption, housing, and car loans; loans to finance for studying abroad; micro-business loans; mortgage loans for equipment; joint guarantee, special guarantee, and housing mortgage loan; bank acceptance, discount, liquid capital, and fixed asset loans; and loans for vessels. The company also offers credit cards; insurance products; open-ended funds; discount and guarantees for commercial bills, redemption of commercial bills, and guaranteed discount for commercial acceptance bills; and financial consultation, debt financing underwriting, merger and acquisition financing, and equity financing and enterprise listing services. In addition, it provides forfeiting and risk participation, escrow, cross-border RMB clearing, and interbank services; and risk and financial management, cross-border RMB and oversea financing, international factoring and settlement, and trade finance services. Further, the company offers financial leasing and guarantee, investment and wealth management, forex option and gold trading, forex express trading, international, offshore and private banking, custody, pension, and electronic banking services. The company also operates in Hong Kong, New York, London, Singapore, Luxembourg, Sydney, and Taipei. China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

About Skandinaviska

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ) provides corporate, retail, investment, and private banking services. The company operates through Large Corporates & Financial Institutions, Corporate & Private Customers, Private Wealth Management & Family Office, Baltic, Life, and Investment Management divisions. It offers treasury advisory services; factoring and receivable, trade, and export financing; markets and trading, such as equities, fixed income, commodities, and foreign exchange; financial services, including investment, financing, and ownership; and shipping and real estate finance. In addition, it offers venture capital for entrepreneurs and innovators; private wealth management; investor services; asset management and life insurance products that include funds, tailored portfolios, and life insurance; fixed income, commodities, debt capital market, and equity research; investment banking; venture capital; and cash management products comprising integration service, file integration network, and payment solutions. The company serves large corporates, financial institutions, private individuals, and small and medium-sized companies. It operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, the United States, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Brazil, India, China, the Netherlands, Singapore, Russia, Poland, Hong Kong, Ukraine, and internationally. The company was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.