It has been another disappointing day of trade in the banking sector with the shares of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) all dropping to new 52-week lows.
In addition to these three banking giants, the Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) share price has also fallen to a 52-week low on Friday.
This latest decline means that the regional bank's shares now offer a mouth-watering trailing fully franked 8.3% dividend yield.
Why is the Bank of Queensland share price at a 52-week low?
As well as coming under pressure from the Royal Commission and the housing market downturn, this regional bank has been hit recently after the sale of its St Andrew's insurance business to Freedom Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: FIG) fell through.
Many in the market had expected the sale of the business to put Bank of Queensland in a position to undertake a sizeable share buyback next year, but the collapse of the sale now puts that in doubt.
In addition to this, investors may have concerns that the unsold business was impacted by the severe storm in Sydney on Thursday.
Both Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) have reported sizeable claims from the hailstorm and have seen their shares sink deep into the red today.
And finally, another catalyst for its share price decline is likely to be the surprise resignation of its managing director and chief executive officer earlier this month. The market may be concerned that the bank will struggle to attract a quality replacement to guide it through these tough times.
Should you buy Bank of Queensland shares?
While it wouldn't be my first pick in the industry, at these levels I think Bank of Queensland is a good option for investors with little exposure to the banking sector.
Especially those in search of dividends, as I'm quite confident that the bank will be able to maintain its massive dividend next year.
