Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) shares have fallen lower in the last month or so. ANZ will pay an 80 cents per share (cps) dividend to shareholders, franked to 70%, on Wednesday.
So, is the bank in the buy zone right now?
Should you buy ANZ shares today?
ANZ shares went ex-dividend on 11 November, dropping 2.55% lower to $25.58 per share. That represented a $0.67 decrease in the company's shares compared to an 80 cps dividend payment.
Shares often don't drop by the exact amount of a dividend due to differences in taxation, which is where franking credits can also come into the picture.
However, even taking into account the ex-dividend date, ANZ shares were down 12.47% over a one-month period at the end of last week.
The Aussie bank's dividend yield of 6.41% ranks third behind Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) amongst the Big Four banks.
However, the bank has also been the only one to avoid a major AUSTRAC scandal so far.
Westpac shares are under pressure as the bank is accused of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.
Commonwealth Bank was slapped with a $700 million fine for its own breaches in July 2018.
That could make ANZ look like a stable option if you want exposure to the ASX banking sector.
What about the regional banks?
You might be thinking that you could avoid buying ANZ shares and look at the non-majors instead.
That hasn't historically been a great idea and the technical environment doesn't look great. There were hopes that the 2018 Financial Services Royal Commission would reduce the Big Four's cartel-like hold on Australian banking.
However, that wasn't the case and the non-majors have struggled on the ASX this year. Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) shares are yielding 8.70%, largely due to its 21.45% price decline this year.
It's a similar story for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) and Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) right now.
Foolish takeaway
The ASX banking and mining sectors make up a huge proportion of the Aussie equities market. While you can't avoid the banks' influence on the economy, you can choose which individual bank you invest in.
With that in mind, maybe ANZ shares could be a more stable, high-yield option for your ASX portfolio in 2020.
