The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that investors can expect some modest dividend hikes from Canadian banks when they post second quarter results next week. The Post's Jonathan Ratner writes in the Trading Desk column that low oil prices and the impact on the Canadian economy continue to dominate sentiment in the sector. These issues are worthy of attention, but Canaccord Genuity analyst Gabriel Dechaine thinks they will be a "non-event" from a credit perspective in the second quarter. That is because the unemployment rate has remained stable, suggesting consumer credit quality will not deteriorate, and guidance for commercial and corporate loan losses has not weakened. HSBC's positive first quarter results are also worth considering. Mr. Dechaine says, "While banks booking sectoral allowances due to weakness in the energy sector is plausible, history suggests that this behaviour tends to be more reactive than one would imagine." He is optimistic about credit loss provisions, but is far less so about margins. Net interest margins compressed slightly in the first quarter for the Canadian personal and commercial banking segment. Guidance points to more of the same for the rest of 2015.