Nomura’s Lucy Feng ruled the roost for two straight years and now slips to third place. One of the researcher’s preferred names in the sector is Beijing-based Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is the country’s largest bank by assets and in September returned to the top of the list of the world’s biggest commercial banks by market capitalization. Feng issued a buy recommendation on the shares in mid-June, explaining that “we view ICBC as having stronger bargaining power and more resilience during margin contraction.” In addition, “given its strong deposit franchise,” she noted, “we prefer ICBC in a rate-deregulating environment.” At the end of October, the stock was trading at HK$5.43, having gained 10.1 percent and outpaced the sector by 5.4 percentage points since she advised buying it. — Katie Gilbert RUNNER(S)-UP Ning Ma Goldman Sachs (Asia) |
The 2013 All-China Research Team: Banks, Third: Lucy Feng