Investors who value dividend growth know they can bank on the big banks to regularly hike their quarterly payouts. But a look at dividend growth trends in the S&P/TSX 60 index of big blue chips shows the big banks are decidedly mid-pack. According to Globeinvestor, National Bank of Canada has increased its dividend by an annualized 9.4 per cent over the past five years. The other Big Six banks range from 8.9 per cent to 5.2 per cent, which compares well to the latest inflation rate of 4.3 per cent. But you can do a lot better than the banks...