--- title: "BofAS Upgrades ABC to Buy, Expects Avg Profit Growth of HK-Listed CN Banks to Improve in 1H" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294001797.md" description: "BofA Securities upgraded ABC to Buy and CMB to Buy, citing improved profit growth expectations for HK-listed Chinese banks. The broker expects average net profit growth to rise to 1.7% YoY in H1. While favoring large banks for visibility and dividends, BofA downgraded CCB to Neutral. Industry loan growth is slowing due to weak credit demand, with retail loans turning negative." datetime: "2026-07-28T02:59:22.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294001797.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294001797.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294001797.md) --- # BofAS Upgrades ABC to Buy, Expects Avg Profit Growth of HK-Listed CN Banks to Improve in 1H BofA Securities published a report expecting the average net profit growth of HK-listed Chinese banks to improve to 1.7% YoY in 1H from 1.1% YoY in 1Q. Pre-provision profit growth accelerated from 1.5% in FY2025 to 9.2% in 1Q, and is expected to remain strong in 1H. The broker continued to favor large banks given their high earnings visibility and attractive dividend yields. The broker upgraded the H-share ABC (01288.HK) +0.100 (+1.658%) Short selling $131.76M; Ratio 25.202% from Neutral to Buy, upgraded the A-share CMB (600036.SH) +0.320 (+0.821%) from Underperform to Buy, upgraded AGRICULTURAL BANK (601288.SH) +0.090 (+1.339%) A shares from Underperform to Neutral, and downgraded CCB (601939.SH) +0.200 (+1.931%) A shares from Buy to Neutral. ICBC (01398.HK) 0.000 (0.000%) Short selling $217.86M; Ratio 17.258% , ABC and CCB (00939.HK) +0.020 (+0.222%) Short selling $543.05M; Ratio 15.436% 's H shares were the broker's top picks among SOE banks, while CITIC BANK (00998.HK) \-0.060 (-0.781%) Short selling $15.85M; Ratio 10.128% , INDUSTRIAL BANK (601166.SH) +0.080 (+0.437%) , BANK OF NINGBO (002142.SZ) \-0.070 (-0.220%) and BANK OF JIANGSU (600919.SH) +0.090 (+0.784%) were its preferred mid-sized and regional banks. Please refer to the attached table for TP details. The report said industry loan growth slowed from 6.2% YoY in December 2025 to 5.7% YoY and 5.2% YoY in March 2026 and June 2026 respectively, mainly dragged down by persistently weak credit demand. Loan structure also became more imbalanced, with retail loans accounting for negative 3% of new loans in 1H, compared with 3% and 15% in 2025 and 2024 respectively. (HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2026-07-27 16:25.) (A Shares quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.) ### Related Stocks - [CICHY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CICHY.US.md) - [03968.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/03968.HK.md) - [00939.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00939.HK.md) - [01288.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01288.HK.md) - [600036.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600036.CN.md) - [601288.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601288.CN.md) - [601939.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601939.CN.md) - [01398.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01398.HK.md) - [00998.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00998.HK.md) - [601166.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601166.CN.md) - [002142.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/002142.CN.md) - [600919.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600919.CN.md) - [601998.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601998.CN.md) ## Related News & Research - [China Merchants Bank Secures Regulatory Nod for New President](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294044395.md) - [China Construction Bank Raises RMB60 Billion in Tier-2 Bond to Boost Capital](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293911146.md) - [What big bank earnings just revealed about the health of the US consumer](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293834153.md) - [Should you buy the dip in Intel stock?](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293833413.md) - [The crowd is dumping Oklo. Here's why I'd be buying it down 44%.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/293827936.md)