Financial Industry 08 (Aug 23 - Dec 26)

[winston]

Malaysia: Banking (OVERWEIGHT)
Safe haven dividend play

System loan growth improved modestly to 5.2% YoY in Feb-26, driven by stronger business lending, while household growth remained stable.

However, leading indicators weakened, with a sharp decline in loan applications—particularly from households—resulting in muted approvals.

Deposit growth continued to moderate amid softer CASA and foreign inflows with a resilient asset quality.

Margins compressed slightly due to higher funding costs.

Overall, fundamentals remain intact, with attractive valuations and dividend yields supporting a constructive sector outlook. Maintain OVERWEIGHT.

Source: HLIB

[winston]

How the Iran war could hurt Wall Street

The big unknown is how the conflict could alter the Gulf’s investment priorities in the next year or two

There has been a mass scramble on Wall Street to profess confidence that the war has changed nothing on the financing front

by Patrick Jenkins

Global SWF, a research organisation, has found that sovereign investors channelled more than US$140 billion into the US economy last year.

This lifted the share of global sovereign deal activity accounted for by US investment to more than 50 per cent.

Deals within the Gulf Cooperation Council, which spans Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, amounted to nearly US$73 billion, up 170 per cent.

Source: Financial Times

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinio ... all-street

[winston]

Big Bank Earnings Gave Financials a Lift, But Wall Street Is Still Cautious

by Jessica Mitacek


Key Points

Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JPMorgan, all posted Q1 2026 earnings beats, signaling potential undervaluation across major financial stocks.

The financials sector has shed nearly 4% year-to-date in 2026 but has rebounded more than 7% over the past month amid strong bank earnings.

Analysts remain cautious despite the earnings beats, with mostly conservative price targets and low expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts ahead.

Source: Market Beat