Core Viewpoint - The performance of bank stocks showed divergence on October 20, with Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) continuing to rise, marking a 12-day consecutive increase in its stock price, while the overall banking index declined slightly [1] Group 1: Stock Performance - As of the midday break, the China Securities Banking Index fell by 0.41%, with 9 stocks rising and 29 stocks declining [1] - ABC's A-shares rose by 0.79%, reaching a price of 7.68 CNY per share, with an intraday high of 7.74 CNY, setting a new record [1] - ABC's total market capitalization is now 2.61 trillion CNY, surpassing that of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) at 2.51 trillion CNY [2] Group 2: Valuation Metrics - ABC's price-to-book ratio (PB) has returned to above 1 for the first time in a long while, ending the long-standing situation of state-owned banks trading below book value [2] - As of last Friday's close, the median PB ratio for 42 listed banks in A-shares was around 0.6, with only four banks, including ABC, having a PB ratio above 0.9 [2] - The lowest PB ratio among state-owned banks, excluding ABC, was 0.55 for Bank of Communications [2] Group 3: Financial Performance - In the first half of the year, the six major banks reported positive year-on-year revenue growth, with three major banks showing positive growth in net profit attributable to shareholders [3] - ABC led with a net profit growth rate of 2.66%, while the top three banks by revenue were ICBC (427.09 billion CNY), China Construction Bank (394.27 billion CNY), and ABC (369.94 billion CNY) [3] - The top three banks by net profit were ICBC (168.10 billion CNY), China Construction Bank (162.08 billion CNY), and ABC (139.51 billion CNY) [3]