EBSCN·2024-03-31 16:00Investment Rating - The investment rating for Postal Savings Bank is "Buy" for both A-shares and H-shares, maintained from previous assessments [1]. Core Insights - The bank reported a revenue of 342.5 billion yuan in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 2.3%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 86.3 billion yuan, reflecting a 1.2% increase year-on-year [4][5]. - The retail business has become a significant contributor, accounting for 72.9% of total revenue, indicating a strong focus on retail banking [5][8]. - The bank's net interest margin (NIM) decreased to 2.01%, primarily due to a decline in asset yields [7]. Financial Performance - Revenue and net profit growth rates for 2023 were 2.3% and 1.2% respectively, with net interest income growing by 3% and non-interest income declining by 1.1% [4][5]. - The bank's total assets reached approximately 15.73 trillion yuan by the end of 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 12.7% [8][16]. - The bank's return on equity (ROE) for 2023 was 11.74%, down from 12.91% in 2022 [10][16]. Loan and Deposit Growth - In 2023, the bank issued new loans totaling 938.5 billion yuan, an increase of 182.1 billion yuan year-on-year, with a focus on corporate and retail lending [6]. - Retail deposits accounted for 42.9% of total deposits by the end of 2023, reflecting a stable growth in core liabilities [6][8]. - The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio was 51.8%, slightly decreasing from the previous quarter [8][14]. Asset Quality and Capital Adequacy - The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 0.83%, indicating a stable asset quality [8][15]. - The bank's capital adequacy ratios showed improvement, with the core tier 1 capital ratio at 9.52% by the end of 2023 [8][15]. - The provision coverage ratio was 347.6%, reflecting a strong buffer against potential loan losses [8][15]. Future Outlook - The bank's earnings per share (EPS) forecasts for 2024 and 2025 have been adjusted to 0.89 yuan and 0.93 yuan respectively, with a new forecast for 2026 at 0.98 yuan [8][10]. - The bank's dividend payout ratio has remained stable at around 30%, providing a dividend yield of 5.5% based on the closing price on March 28 [8][10].