by winston » Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:00 pm
HK Strategy – Lifting HK banks to Neutral
HK banks results were mixed with provisions being the key swing factor. However, stronger capital positions & the focus on return on capital were positive surprises.
Overall, banks have benefited from higher net interest income (NII) but partly being offset by provisions.
Overall, HK banks are likely to benefit from more aggressive Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes expectations in the near-term.
Rising interest rates should support net interest margin expansion (NIM) & hence, NII growth.
In this results announcement season, there has been an increasing focus on return on capital in share buybacks & dividend.
We lift HK banks from “Underweight” to “Neutral” amid increasing recession risks in the developed market in 2H23 which would warrant a more disciplined and flexible stance.
Among HK banks, we prefer Standard Chartered Bank (SCB, 2888 HK, Fair value HKD77) which has relatively less exposure to UK & Europe as well as Bank of China HK (BOCHK, 2388 HK, Fair value HKD36.5) which is trading at a relatively more attractive valuations among HK domestic banks.
Source: OCBC
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