After wobbling their way through 2023, ASX bank shares have been on a tear this year. Why?
Well, when the investment world is dominated by inflation and interest rates, one offer remains attractive: earning passive income from dividends.
ASX bank shares? They can be fortress-like dividend payers.
One name worth noting is Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ). According to its latest filings, the company serves around 1.4 million customers and has a 2.73% share of the Australian residential mortgage market.
The Bank of Queensland share price has lagged the broader ASX 200 Banks Index (ASX: XBK), which has advanced 8.4% since January.
Other ASX bank shares, such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), have also outperformed the Bank of Queensland share price in 2024.
But you shouldn't look away yet.
Bank of Queensland currently offers us the highest dividend yield out of all the banking majors. As far as investment goes, this is a unique point.
What is the Bank of Queensland dividend yield?
Bank of Queensland shares were swapping hands at $5.86 apiece recently, producing a trailing dividend yield of 6.5%. For context, the dividend yield on iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ) at the time was 3.63%, nearly 1.8 times smaller.
This is the highest yield among the banking majors. By comparison, CBA and NAB currently offer yields of 3.9% and 6.1%, respectively. Here's a recent snapshot.
ASX Bank shares dividend yield
| Company | Recent share price | Trailing dividend | Current dividend yield |
| Bank of Queensland Ltd | $5.86 | $0.38 | 6.5% |
| Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd | $9.76 | $0.62 | 6.4% |
| ANZ Group Holdings Ltd | $28.48 | $1.75 | 6.1% |
| Westpac Banking Corporation | $26.42 | $1.42 | 5.4% |
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia | $115.23 | $4.55 | 3.9% |
| Macquarie Group Ltd | $183.83 | $7.05 | 3.8% |
| National Australia Bank | $34.40 | $1.67 | 4.9% |
| Group average | — | $2.49 | 5.3% |
What this means is that a $1,000 investment in Bank of Queensland stock would theoretically produce $65 of annual income to the investor. You simply multiply the investment by the yield to gain your dividend income.
An $8,000 investment would theoretically yield $520 of annual income if one were to invest in Bank of Queensland shares today ($8,000 times 6.% = $520.00).
We can't forget the effect of franking credits, either. The bank's most recent dividend was franked at 100%, bringing the full gross yield – that is, adjusted for franking credits – to 9.46% at the time of publication.
Can investors actually gain $530 in passive income from investing $8,000 in Bank of Queensland shares?
All this sounds great on paper. But this is the trailing dividend yield. For it to remain constant, the rate of dividends must continue going forward, and the share price mustn't creep too high.
For example, if the bank were to reduce its dividend to $0.35 per share today, the dividend yield would fall to 5.6%. The opposite is also true if it were to increase. See the table below.
| Change | Dividend per share | Yield at recent share price ($5.86) |
| Increase | $0.50 | 8.55% |
| Same | $0.41 | 7.01% |
| Decrease | $0.35 | 5.98% |
Just remember – companies pay dividends from their earnings. If profits are down, the dividend payment may be reduced.
So, if Bank of Queensland maintains its current annual dividend and the share price remains steady, investors could expect to earn $520 of income for every $8,000 invested in Bank of Queensland shares. If it doesn't? These figures will change.
Based on the company's track record, profits, and overall strength of the economy, it would be hard to see Bank of Queensland slash its dividend any time soon, in my best estimation.
