--- title: "Jefferies: Mainland Banks to See Steady Improvement This Year, Favors BANK OF CHINA and BANK OF NINGBO" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286357244.md" description: "Jefferies forecasts steady earnings improvement for mainland China's banking sector in 2026, driven by a mild macroeconomic recovery and low policy volatility. The report anticipates a slowdown in NIM narrowing, supporting net interest income growth, with pre-provision operating profit expected to recover fully. The broker favors BANK OF CHINA and BANK OF NINGBO, both rated Buy, and highlights selective attractiveness in the sector due to capital inflows and improving earnings visibility. Ratings and target prices for various banks are also provided in the report." datetime: "2026-05-14T04:33:58.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286357244.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286357244.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286357244.md) --- # Jefferies: Mainland Banks to See Steady Improvement This Year, Favors BANK OF CHINA and BANK OF NINGBO Jefferies issued a research report expecting mainland China's banking sector to deliver steady earnings improvement in 2026 amid a mild macroeconomic recovery and low policy volatility. The broker forecast that the pace of NIM narrowing will slow, supporting a return to growth in net interest income. It expects pre-provision operating profit of the covered banks to fully recover in 2026, with earnings rising approximately 3.4% YoY. The report noted that capital inflows will continue to support the mainland banking sector. In particular, under new accounting standards, insurance companies have stronger incentives to increase allocation to high-yield equities and classify them into FVOCI accounts, and are expected to become persistent and stable marginal buyers. The broker believes the sector offers selective attractiveness, favoring stocks with sustained capital inflows and improving earnings visibility. Its top picks are H-share and A-share leaders BANK OF CHINA (03988.HK) +0.090 (+1.724%) Short selling $280.11M; Ratio 23.636% and BANK OF NINGBO (002142.SZ) +0.060 (+0.187%) , both rated Buy. Jefferies listed ratings and TP for mainland banks: Company and Stock CodeRatingTP \------------------------------------------------------------------ ICBC (01398.HK) +0.050 (+0.714%) Short selling $189.40M; Ratio 17.367% BuyHKD8.5 ICBC (601398.SH) +0.100 (+1.383%) BuyRMB8.7 \------------------------------------------------------------------ ABC (01288.HK) +0.050 (+0.821%) Short selling $217.93M; Ratio 38.182% HoldHKD6.6 AGRICULTURAL BANK (601288.SH) +0.140 (+2.102%) HoldRMB7.4 \------------------------------------------------------------------ BANK OF CHINA (03988.HK) +0.090 (+1.724%) Short selling $280.11M; Ratio 23.636% BuyHKD6.3 BANK OF CHINA (601988.SH) +0.090 (+1.573%) BuyRMB7.4 \------------------------------------------------------------------ CCB (00939.HK) +0.060 (+0.676%) Short selling $354.21M; Ratio 25.421% BuyHKD10.6 CCB (601939.SH) +0.120 (+1.249%) BuyRMB11.9 \------------------------------------------------------------------ BANKCOMM (03328.HK) +0.080 (+1.096%) Short selling $61.80M; Ratio 32.119% BuyHKD8.5 BANKCOMM (601328.SH) +0.060 (+0.898%) BuyRMB8.5 \------------------------------------------------------------------ PSBC (01658.HK) +0.010 (+0.196%) Short selling $12.68M; Ratio 24.517% HoldHKD5.1 PSBC (601658.SH) +0.030 (+0.600%) HoldRMB5.3 \------------------------------------------------------------------ CM BANK (03968.HK) +0.180 (+0.381%) Short selling $134.21M; Ratio 22.126% BuyHKD55.0 CMB (600036.SH) +0.070 (+0.185%) BuyRMB51.0 \------------------------------------------------------------------ MINSHENG BANK (01988.HK) \-0.060 (-1.657%) Short selling $20.26M; Ratio 21.483% HoldHKD4.1 MINSHENG BANK (600016.SH) 0.000 (0.000%) HoldRMB4.2 \------------------------------------------------------------------ PING AN BANK (000001.SZ) \-0.040 (-0.359%) BuyRMB13.8 \------------------------------------------------------------------ BANK OF NINGBO (002142.SZ) +0.060 (+0.187%) BuyRMB42.1 (ad/u)(HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2026-05-13 16:25.) 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