Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Equity Bottom-Up

Mizuho Financial Group / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>We focus on five key factors, namely capital adequacy, credit quality, exposure to government securities, interest rate gearing and valuation with growth metrics for our Japanese banks universe</li>
<li>It is important to note that the relaxation of yield curve control is translating into rising loan yields generally in the BoJ data to September-end 2023</li>
<li>We stick with our positive views on Resona, Mizuho and Concordia; we remove Hachijuni from the buy list and SMFG, replacing the latter with MUFG in the large cap banks</li>
</ul>


We focus on five key factors, namely capital adequacy, credit quality, exposure to government securities, interest rate gearing and valuation with growth metrics for our Japanese banks universe
It is important to note that the relaxation of yield curve control is translating into rising loan yields generally in the BoJ data to September-end 2023
We stick with our positive views on Resona, Mizuho and Concordia; we remove Hachijuni from the buy list and SMFG, replacing the latter with MUFG in the large cap banks


Japanese Banks – Our Main Thoughts Post 2Q23 Results

<ul>
<li>The latest BoJ adjustment to its yield curve control lifts the hard yield ceiling of 1% on 10 year JGBs, making it “a reference” and allowing yields to exceed it</li>
<li>10 year JGB yields are close to 1%, with Japanese bond yields steepening further which is positive for Japanese banks, especially those with a high share of floating-rate credit exposures</li>
<li>We stick with our positive views on Resona, Mizuho, SMFG and Hachijuni; we add Concordia to our buy list for its high share of floating rate credit exposure</li>
</ul>


The latest BoJ adjustment to its yield curve control lifts the hard yield ceiling of 1% on 10 year JGBs, making it “a reference” and allowing yields to exceed it
10 year JGB yields are close to 1%, with Japanese bond yields steepening further which is positive for Japanese banks, especially those with a high share of floating-rate credit exposures
We stick with our positive views on Resona, Mizuho, SMFG and Hachijuni; we add Concordia to our buy list for its high share of floating rate credit exposure


Japanese Banks – Nearing the Yield Curve Control End-Game

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks, Windamee Research

J. Brian Waterhouse

Senior Bank Analyst - Japanese Banks

Windamee Research

Japanese Banks

Concordia Financial Group, Ltd / Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/concordia-financial-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22704:1" rel="noopener">Concordia Financial Group, Ltd (7186 JP)</a>, or CFG, has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion and is now expecting EPS of just ¥20.97 against previous guidance of ¥33.15.  There are two principal causes: writing down an investment in a bear fund that went dramatically wrong in a rising market to the tune of ¥16.1 billion; and a significant increase in credit costs of ¥9.0 billion, largely at subsidiary Higashi-Nippon Bank (HNPB).Lingering investor memories of past management scandals and disappointing financial performance at HNPB in particular have caused CFG to significantly underperform its peers over the last 12 months, with its stock price up only +23.5% against an average of 35.5% for the other Top 5 regional banks in terms of market capitalisation.Yet aggregate foreign ownership in CFG remains high at around 31.5%.  Foreign investors view CFG as a liquid alternative to the ‘crowded trade’ of simply buying megabanks for exposure to the Japanese financial sector.  Moreover, CFG offers a cash dividend payment policy of 33% of net profits, a total shareholder return policy target of 50%, conducts frequent share buybacks, and regularly cancels part of its Treasury Stock to boost overall shareholder returns.  Even so, within the regional banking sector, we much prefer <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/chiba-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1048:1" rel="noopener">Chiba Bank (8331 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/iyo-bank-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6869:1" rel="noopener">Iyo Bank (8385 JP)</a> for their strong management and stable fundamentals, or <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bank-of-kyoto-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5248:1" rel="noopener">Bank Of Kyoto (8369 JP)</a> as an interesting thematic play.

Concordia Financial Group, Ltd (7186 JP), or CFG, has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion and is now expecting EPS of just ¥20.97 against previous guidance of ¥33.15.  There are two principal causes: writing down an investment in a bear fund that went dramatically wrong in a rising market to the tune of ¥16.1 billion; and a significant increase in credit costs of ¥9.0 billion, largely at subsidiary Higashi-Nippon Bank (HNPB).Lingering investor memories of past management scandals and disappointing financial performance at HNPB in particular have caused CFG to significantly underperform its peers over the last 12 months, with its stock price up only +23.5% against an average of 35.5% for the other Top 5 regional banks in terms of market capitalisation.Yet aggregate foreign ownership in CFG remains high at around 31.5%.  Foreign investors view CFG as a liquid alternative to the ‘crowded trade’ of simply buying megabanks for exposure to the Japanese financial sector.  Moreover, CFG offers a cash dividend payment policy of 33% of net profits, a total shareholder return policy target of 50%, conducts frequent share buybacks, and regularly cancels part of its Treasury Stock to boost overall shareholder returns.  Even so, within the regional banking sector, we much prefer Chiba Bank (8331 JP) and Iyo Bank (8385 JP) for their strong management and stable fundamentals, or Bank Of Kyoto (8369 JP) as an interesting thematic play.

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP): Asset Quality Issues

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Japanese people are renowned for their thrift.  Even when deposit interest rates are zero they continue to save.  Cash continues to pour into the banks at near-record levels, both from corporates and from individuals.  But that is not good news: there is little the banks can do with all those savings when loan rates are also zero (and less than zero in some circumstances!).  Unsurprisingly, Japanese banks are not looking forward to a particularly Merry Christmas this year.Deposit growth at the 112 banks that are members of the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) touched +9.4% YoY in November 2020: the 2nd-highest YoY growth level ever recorded and just short of the record +9.5% YoY growth rate set back in August.  Most of the additional ¥8.251 trillion (US$79.34 billion) in funds deposited with the banks in November ended up with the major banks, pushing their loan-to-deposit ratios (LDRs) down to record lows of inefficiency as deposit inflows were over four times greater than new loan outflows.  Only the secondary regional banks registered a small decline in deposit balances: a curious development, as their loan balances grew by a record +7.0% YoY.As the world gets ready to celebrate the end of what has been a terrible year globally and to welcome in the start of 2021 in the fervent hope that it will prove to be better than 2020, there is seemingly no end to the financial pain for Japan’s embattled banks… or for their long-suffering shareholders.“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/179/761/original/TPNBNK+vs+TPX+in+CY2020.jpg?1608608493" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="179761"></figure></section>

Japanese people are renowned for their thrift.  Even when deposit interest rates are zero they continue to save.  Cash continues to pour into the banks at near-record levels, both from corporates and from individuals.  But that is not good news: there is little the banks can do with all those savings when loan rates are also zero (and less than zero in some circumstances!).  Unsurprisingly, Japanese banks are not looking forward to a particularly Merry Christmas this year.Deposit growth at the 112 banks that are members of the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) touched +9.4% YoY in November 2020: the 2nd-highest YoY growth level ever recorded and just short of the record +9.5% YoY growth rate set back in August.  Most of the additional ¥8.251 trillion (US$79.34 billion) in funds deposited with the banks in November ended up with the major banks, pushing their loan-to-deposit ratios (LDRs) down to record lows of inefficiency as deposit inflows were over four times greater than new loan outflows.  Only the secondary regional banks registered a small decline in deposit balances: a curious development, as their loan balances grew by a record +7.0% YoY.As the world gets ready to celebrate the end of what has been a terrible year globally and to welcome in the start of 2021 in the fervent hope that it will prove to be better than 2020, there is seemingly no end to the financial pain for Japan’s embattled banks… or for their long-suffering shareholders.“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.

Japanese Banks:  Remember, Remember, the Thrift of November

The latest data from both the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) indicate that, while loan growth remains strong in annual terms, loan outstandings have eased back to where they were in May.  In essence, much of the increase in lending by the major banks seen between March and June was then reversed between July and October.
Peak lending occurred in June, when outstanding loans reached ¥535.407 trillion (US$5.10 trillion).  Since then, the rate of year-on-year (YoY) growth has remained just above +6%, thanks to exceptionally strong loan demand in the March-June period which pushed overall loan balances by as much as ¥34.4 trillion (US$331.0 billion) YoY.  However, total loan outstandings thereafter fell every month between July and October, bottoming out in November when the major banks finally registered an increase in lending for the first time in five months.  Month-on-month (MoM) growth in regional bank lending has slowed to a comparative trickle, with loan outstandings falling 0.2% MoM in November.  This does not bode well for 2H FY3/2021 banking sector profits generally, especially as credit costs are continuing to ‘normalise’ even as revenues and margins  -  not to mention shareholder returns  -  remain under pressure.
“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.

The latest data from both the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the Japanese Bankers Association (JBA) indicate that, while loan growth remains strong in annual terms, loan outstandings have eased back to where they were in May.  In essence, much of the increase in lending by the major banks seen between March and June was then reversed between July and October.
Peak lending occurred in June, when outstanding loans reached ¥535.407 trillion (US$5.10 trillion).  Since then, the rate of year-on-year (YoY) growth has remained just above +6%, thanks to exceptionally strong loan demand in the March-June period which pushed overall loan balances by as much as ¥34.4 trillion (US$331.0 billion) YoY.  However, total loan outstandings thereafter fell every month between July and October, bottoming out in November when the major banks finally registered an increase in lending for the first time in five months.  Month-on-month (MoM) growth in regional bank lending has slowed to a comparative trickle, with loan outstandings falling 0.2% MoM in November.  This does not bode well for 2H FY3/2021 banking sector profits generally, especially as credit costs are continuing to ‘normalise’ even as revenues and margins  -  not to mention shareholder returns  -  remain under pressure.
“Caveat Emptor!” (May the Buyer Beware) remains our advice to would-be investors in Japanese bank stocks for 2021 and beyond.

Japan

Concordia Financial Group, Ltd. is a holding company established through the merger of Bank of Yokohama and Higashi-Nippon Bank. The Company provides banking services and other financial services.

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Concordia Financial Group, Ltd (7186 JP)

Japanese Banks – Our Main Thoughts Post 2Q23 Results

We look to capital ratios, delinquency, exposure to sovereign bonds, interest rate gearing and valuation; buy Resona, Mizuho and Concordia, adding...

Victor Galliano

Japanese Banks – Nearing the Yield Curve Control End-Game

The BoJ's relaxation of yield curve control allows JGB yields to rise, positive for Japanese banks with big shares of floating-rate loans; we add...

Victor Galliano

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP): Asset Quality Issues

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP) has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion on higher credit costs and after writing down a...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Japanese Banks: Remember, Remember, the Thrift of November

Japanese people are renowned for their thrift. Even when deposit interest rates are zero they continue to save. But there is little the banks can...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Japanese Bank Lending: Losing Momentum

Loan balances have eased back to May levels, with much of the increase in lending by the major banks in March-June reversing between July and...

J. Brian Waterhouse

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Japanese Banks – Our Main Thoughts Post 2Q23 Results

We look to capital ratios, delinquency, exposure to sovereign bonds, interest rate gearing and valuation; buy Resona, Mizuho and Concordia, adding...

Victor Galliano

Japanese Banks – Nearing the Yield Curve Control End-Game

​The BoJ's relaxation of yield curve control allows JGB yields to rise, positive for Japanese banks with big shares of floating-rate loans; we add...

Victor Galliano

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP): Asset Quality Issues

Concordia Financial Group (7186 JP) has slashed its FY3/3021 guidance by 36.7% to ¥25.3 billion on higher credit costs and after writing down a...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Japanese Banks: Remember, Remember, the Thrift of November

Japanese people are renowned for their thrift. Even when deposit interest rates are zero they continue to save. But there is little the banks can...

J. Brian Waterhouse

Japanese Bank Lending: Losing Momentum

Loan balances have eased back to May levels, with much of the increase in lending by the major banks in March-June reversing between July and...

J. Brian Waterhouse

The BoJ's relaxation of yield curve control allows JGB yields to rise, positive for Japanese banks with big shares of floating-rate loans; we add...