Three of the big four S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stocks leapt in The Motley Fool headlines over the week gone by.
From growing loan books, to juicy dividend forecasts, to new partnerships, it was another eventful week for the big bank shares.
Here's what's been happening.
ASX 200 bank stocks back in the news
First up, we have Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ).
The ASX 200 bank stock is a favourite go-to for many passive income investors, paying a trailing yield of 7.1%.
On Monday, ANZ made headlines following a bullish assessment of the bank's dividend and share price outlook from Goldman Sachs.
The broker is forecasting fully franked dividends of $1.62 per share in FY 2024 and FY 2025. At Friday's closing price of $24.43, that equates to a forecast yield of 6.6%.
While that's a bit lower than the FY 2023 trailing yield, Goldman Sachs also has a buy rating on the bank's stock, with a $26.66 target for the ANZ share price. That represents a potential upside of 9.1%.
Also grabbing our headlines this week is Australia's biggest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
The ASX 200 bank stock made news on Friday following data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) that CBA's total loan balance to owner-occupiers and investors had ticked up over the prior month.
That increase was only $63 million, a tiny fraction of the bank's $540 billion home loan book. But it signals that CBA, the biggest Aussie home loan lender, may be done relinquishing its market-leading share of home loans to its rivals.
Game on.
Which brings us to National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB).
NAB grabbed headlines on Tuesday after the ASX 200 bank stock announced it was forming a partnership with small-cap ASX financial stock Plenti Group Ltd (ASX: PLT).
The NAB share price closed up 1.2% on the day, while the Plenti share price finished up an eye-popping 64.7%.
The partners will initially focus on automotive loans before moving to offer Plenti's renewable energy financing to NAB customers.
Commenting on the partnership with the ASX 200 bank stock, Plenti CEO Daniel Foggo said:
This strategic partnership makes sense. It brings together one of Australia's largest and most trusted financial institutions with one of Australia's most innovative and awarded financial technology companies.
