GF SECURITIES·2026-01-19 01:47Core Insights - The banking sector has shown weak relative and absolute returns recently, primarily due to market funds shifting towards high-beta and small-cap stocks, leading to a diversion of funds from low-beta banking stocks [18] - The report suggests that the banking sector is likely to experience further internal differentiation in 2026, with larger banks and wealth management banks expected to outperform [18] - Core stock recommendations include Ningbo Bank, China Merchants Bank, Qingdao Bank, and large state-owned banks [18] Section Summaries 1. Current Observation: A-shares in Banking Decline, H-shares Outperform - During the observation period from January 12 to January 16, 2026, the banking sector (CITIC first-level industry) declined by 2.6%, ranking 25th among all industries and underperforming the Wind All A index [16] - The performance of state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, city commercial banks, and rural commercial banks varied, with declines of -2.16%, -3.33%, -1.92%, and -2.24% respectively [16] - H-shares of banks increased by 2.4%, underperforming the Hang Seng Composite Index, while A-share banks showed mixed results [16] 2. Investment Recommendations: Beta Elasticity Dominates Recent Sector Performance - The report indicates that the recent downturn in the banking sector has solidified valuations, with limited further downside expected [18] - The anticipated trends include a shift towards non-bank financial services, wealth management, and disintermediation, with large banks expected to gain an advantage [18] 3. Sector Performance: Banking Sector Decline, Weekly Turnover Rate Increases - The banking sector's weekly turnover rate increased to 1.61%, ranking last among 30 CITIC first-level industries [42] - As of January 16, 2026, the banking sector's latest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 6.89x, and the price-to-book (P/B) ratio was 0.67x, indicating valuations at historical average levels [42] 4. Individual Stock Performance: A-share Banks Overall Decline, City Commercial Banks Relatively Stable - Among A-share banks, Ningbo Bank saw a rise of 4.09%, while Beijing Bank, Huaxia Bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank experienced declines of 4.90%, 4.73%, and 4.33% respectively [16] - In H-shares, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank increased by 3.59% and 3.16%, while China Everbright Bank and Chongqing Bank saw declines of 6.14% and 3.10% [16] 5. Convertible Bond Performance: Average Price Increase - The average price of banking convertible bonds rose by 0.06%, underperforming the Zhongzheng convertible bond index by 1.02 percentage points [17] - The top-performing convertible bonds included Chongqing Bank's convertible bond (+0.58%) and Industrial Bank's convertible bond (+0.18%) [17] 6. Profit Forecast Tracking: 2025 Profit Growth Expectations Remain Stable - For the current period, three banks (China Merchants Bank, Minsheng Bank, and Hangzhou Bank) showed changes in the consensus profit growth expectations for 2025 [17] - The net profit growth and revenue growth expectations for A-share banks in 2025 adjusted slightly downwards by -0.08 percentage points and -0.03 percentage points respectively [17]