Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares have risen a further 39 cents or 0.5% today and are slowly creeping back towards their all-time high, recorded in July this year. After falling as low as $73.57 last month, Australia's largest bank has managed to recover a remarkable 10% to now be trading at $80.91. That's just 3.6% below its record $83.92!
With low interest rates here to stay for the foreseeable future, there's certainly a possibility that the stock will go on to set itself a new record. In fact, given the S&P/ASX 200 Index's (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) recent momentum, I wouldn't at all be surprised if that did happen.
But it's the long term that concerns me. While there are a number of tailwinds supporting the bank stock's growth right now, the headwinds are starting to build up and could act as a major restriction in the years ahead.
As a perfect example, interest rates will inevitably rise. This will see an increase in bad and doubtful debt charges which will impact earnings growth. The likely implementation of stricter capital requirements as a result of the Financial System Inquiry would also impact the bank's return on equity and could even hurt its ability to maintain or grow dividends.
Given the high valuation already placed on Commonwealth Bank as well as the bank's limited growth prospects, it seems highly unlikely that the bank's shares will deliver market-beating returns in the long run. Thus, Commonwealth Bank is one for Foolish investors to avoid for now.
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