JP Morgan: Moderate improvement in bank revenue and profits in the first quarter.

JP Morgan released a research report stating that Bank of China is expected to announce its first quarter performance for 2026 in the coming week, with moderate improvement in revenue and profit growth. In terms of state-owned banks, the bank expects Agricultural Bank of China (01288) and BANKCOMM (03328) to demonstrate strong profit growth momentum, leading the industry; in contrast, Postal Savings Bank of China (01658) may lag behind in performance due to rising credit costs. As for joint-stock banks, JP Morgan points out that Ping An Bank (000001.SZ) is expected to achieve year-on-year positive growth in revenue and profit in the first quarter. Meanwhile, China Minsheng Banking Corp., Ltd. (01988) shows signs of revenue rebound, but profit growth is expected to continue shrinking. Industrial Bank (601166.SH) may not perform as well on the revenue side, but profit growth is expected to remain stable, while the overall performance of China Everbright Bank (06818) could be weaker than its peers. Looking ahead, considering the upcoming dividend season in July, the bank believes that state-owned banks will outperform joint-stock banks. In terms of stock selection for joint-stock banks, they maintain that China Merchants Bank (600036.SH) A shares are the industry's top choice, mainly due to its stable financial growth trend and attractive dividend yield.