The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that this year Canadian Western Bank has gained nearly 37 per cent, which is more than double the return on the S&P/TSX composite index and better than the Big Six banks. The Globe's David Berman writes that from CWB's February low, its shares have surged more than 60 per cent. Laurentian Bank of Canada's recent performance is not as wow-inducing, but it is the cheapest bank stock you can buy. Laurentian comes with a big 4.4-per-cent dividend yield. It outperformed Royal Bank of Canada between 2014 and 2016, when investors were concerned about the impact of tumbling oil prices. In other words, small banks can dazzle when you get the timing right. The difference between smaller players and the big banks is vast. The combined value of CWB and Laurentian is just $4.7-billion, or a quarter of the size of National Bank of Canada, the smallest of the Big Six. Put another way, RBC's trading activities alone drive more revenue than Laurentian's and CWB's entire banking activities. CWB has risen sharply with the rebound in the price of oil. Laurentian performed better than its larger peers when oil was falling between 2014 and 2016.