Asian bank research and consultancy, Tabbush Report

Daniel Tabbush

Asian bank research and consultancy

Tabbush Report

We provide research and consultancy on Asian banks. Our focus is on what we call “Asian bank research, without the noise.” We are interested in the most critical swing-factors for banks, the NPL and credit cycle, and where we believe there is a gap between perception and reality. We often focus on the less studied components of bank financial statements.  Our research is highly thematic, sometimes examining unlisted banks and companies as a window on mainstream banks. 

Being independent allows us to look at smaller banks, often overlooked by others. Analysis of BIS bank guidelines in the context of Asia, is also a focal point, while we also analyze global banks operating in the region. We use what we believe is the most comprehensive, reliable financials database, SNL Financial. S&P Capital IQ augments our database, with corporate data and CEIC, with economics. 

Asian bank research, without the noise.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>WFC is seeing net interest income growth rate decelerate sharply from 29% YoY in 2Q23 to 8% YoY in 3Q23. Its deposit costs rose from 23bps to 192bps YoY</li>
<li>CRE NCO's rose to USD93m in 3Q23 from reversals in 3Q22. Its CRE non-accruals rose to USD3,863m in 3Q23, vs USD2,507m in 2Q23, vs USD853m in 3Q22</li>
<li>Mortgage, Auto, CRE loans are down QoQ and YoY. C&amp;I loans, its largest loan bucket are down 0.9% QoQ. Total gross loans declined USD5.5bn QoQ, now down USD13bn from peak.</li>
</ul>


WFC is seeing net interest income growth rate decelerate sharply from 29% YoY in 2Q23 to 8% YoY in 3Q23. Its deposit costs rose from 23bps to 192bps YoY
CRE NCO's rose to USD93m in 3Q23 from reversals in 3Q22. Its CRE non-accruals rose to USD3,863m in 3Q23, vs USD2,507m in 2Q23, vs USD853m in 3Q22
Mortgage, Auto, CRE loans are down QoQ and YoY. C&amp;I loans, its largest loan bucket are down 0.9% QoQ. Total gross loans declined USD5.5bn QoQ, now down USD13bn from peak.


WFC - Net Interest Income +8% YoY Vs +29% | CRE Non-Accruals +54% QoQ, +4.5x YoY | NIM -17bps in 6M

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The risk for US small banks is clear with the major charge taken by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/new-york-community-bancorp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1193:1" rel="noopener">New York Community Bank (NYCB US)</a> for its CRE exposure</li>
<li>Small banks in the US, those outside the largest 25 by assets, have 45% of their loans in CRE which equates to 2.9x shareholders' equity </li>
<li>The reality is that NYCB's credit costs are now far higher than in the recessionary period of the early 1990s, showing what some banks can face in coming quarters</li>
</ul>


The risk for US small banks is clear with the major charge taken by New York Community Bank (NYCB US) for its CRE exposure
Small banks in the US, those outside the largest 25 by assets, have 45% of their loans in CRE which equates to 2.9x shareholders' equity 
The reality is that NYCB's credit costs are now far higher than in the recessionary period of the early 1990s, showing what some banks can face in coming quarters


US Banks - NYCB Credit Costs Are Much Higher than in the Early 1990s

Financial sector veteran, KT Capital Group

Fern Wang

Financial sector veteran

KT Capital Group

Principal investments and advisory firm that focuses on connecting the CIS countries with East Asia.

Principal investments and advisory firm

<ul>
<li>Unrealized HTM losses continued to balloon as interest rates crept higher.</li>
<li>What has caused SVB's demise seems to have now been forgotten and ignored by investors.</li>
<li>We took a deep dive into 3 U.S. Banks, First Foundation, Wells Fargo and Bank of America on their HTM losses.</li>
</ul>


Unrealized HTM losses continued to balloon as interest rates crept higher.
What has caused SVB's demise seems to have now been forgotten and ignored by investors.
We took a deep dive into 3 U.S. Banks, First Foundation, Wells Fargo and Bank of America on their HTM losses.


Investors Have Been Buried Their Head in The Sand on Billions of Unrealized HTM Losses

<ul>
<li>Weekly balance sheets give a view of underlying credit conditions in the US and they are not positive. Lending growth continues to decelerate and could reach negative growth soon. </li>
<li>Cash balances are rising and this suggests that US large banks are not comfortable with risk and also seeing less opportunities. Cash/loans ratio rising fastest in most recent week. </li>
<li>Large time deposits cost the most, and their growth rate is now 109% YoY in the most recent week, rising more than loans in each of the past 3 weeks.</li>
</ul>


Weekly balance sheets give a view of underlying credit conditions in the US and they are not positive. Lending growth continues to decelerate and could reach negative growth soon. 
Cash balances are rising and this suggests that US large banks are not comfortable with risk and also seeing less opportunities. Cash/loans ratio rising fastest in most recent week. 
Large time deposits cost the most, and their growth rate is now 109% YoY in the most recent week, rising more than loans in each of the past 3 weeks.


US Large Banks - Weekly Balance Sheets: Decelerating Loans, Rising Cash, Big Time Deposits +109% YoY

<ul>
<li>The U.S. Big 3 banks delivered strong 3Q23 earnings on the back of record net interest income, despite a lower balance in commercial loans and residential mortgages.</li>
<li>Credit quality is mostly steady, with credit card charge-offs normalized. The main pain point is in CRE, especially for WFC. </li>
<li>The proposed Basel III end game, if materialized, could have a huge impact on JPM and Citigroup in particular.</li>
</ul>


The U.S. Big 3 banks delivered strong 3Q23 earnings on the back of record net interest income, despite a lower balance in commercial loans and residential mortgages.
Credit quality is mostly steady, with credit card charge-offs normalized. The main pain point is in CRE, especially for WFC. 
The proposed Basel III end game, if materialized, could have a huge impact on JPM and Citigroup in particular.


The Big 3 U.S. Banks Delivered Solid Earnings on NII, Benign Credit Quality

United States

Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, leasing, credit cards, and consumer finance.  The Company operates through physical stores, the Internet and other distribution channels across North America and elsewhere internationally.

Wells Fargo & Co (WFC US)

WFC - Net Interest Income +8% YoY Vs +29% | CRE Non-Accruals +54% QoQ, +4.5x YoY | NIM -17bps in 6M

Net interest income is slowing dramatically and could turn negative in 4Q23. NIM pressure is worsening and CRE nonaccrual loans are soaring. Most...

Daniel Tabbush

US Banks - NYCB Credit Costs Are Much Higher than in the Early 1990s

US CRE loan risk is clearest now with the NYCB charge taken in 4Q23, putting its credit costs now well higher than the recessionary period in...

Daniel Tabbush

Investors Have Been Buried Their Head in The Sand on Billions of Unrealized HTM Losses

Unrealized HTM losses continue to balloon. What has caused SVB's demise seems to have now been forgotten. We took a deep dive into 3 U.S. banks to...

Fern Wang

US Large Banks - Weekly Balance Sheets: Decelerating Loans, Rising Cash, Big Time Deposits +109% YoY

US large banks are seeing loan growth decelerating, cash rising, large time deposits up 109% YoY in most recent week. Weekly B/S data suggests net...

Daniel Tabbush

The Big 3 U.S. Banks Delivered Solid Earnings on NII, Benign Credit Quality

The Big 3 U.S. Banks JPM, Citigroup and WFC delivered strong earnings on the back of higher interest rates and benign credit quality. Proposed...

Fern Wang