中金：维持东亚银行(00023)“中性”评级 上调目标价至18.03港元

Core Viewpoint - The new strategic direction of Bank of East Asia is clear, with a focus on lowering credit costs and increasing non-interest income, leading to significant upward revisions in profit forecasts for 2026 and 2027 [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - The company's 2025 performance was below expectations, with revenue of HKD 21 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.2%, and net profit of HKD 3.2 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 20.1% [2] - The 2025 credit cost was 1.04%, a slight increase of 1 basis point year-on-year, with a rise in the second half of 2025 to 1.14% [4] - The net interest income for 2025 decreased by 7.3% year-on-year, primarily due to a decline in HIBOR and LPR, resulting in a narrowing of the interest margin to 1.90% [5] Group 2: Strategic Goals - The company aims to improve its return on equity (ROE) to 7% by 2028, with a goal to double shareholder returns [3] - Specific strategic targets include improving asset quality by resolving historical issues in commercial real estate (CRE) and reducing credit costs to below 60 basis points by 2028 [3] - The company plans to achieve sustainable revenue growth by leveraging cross-border business advantages, with 80% of new credit relying on mainland business networks [3] Group 3: Non-Interest Income - Non-interest income for 2025 increased by 28%, with fee income rising by 15%, and contributions from wealth management and corporate fees showing double-digit growth [6] - Other non-interest income grew by 50%, primarily driven by client trading and market-making activities, which are considered stable income sources [6] Group 4: Asset Management - The company is actively managing and disposing of non-performing assets related to real estate, with a significant portion of credit costs allocated to CRE-related exposures [4] - By the end of 2025, the exposure to mainland property developers accounted for 2.7% of total loans, a decrease of 2.2% year-on-year, while exposure to Hong Kong property developers was 9.9%, down 1.6% year-on-year [4]