Lates News

Morgan Stanley has published a research report indicating that the decrease in deposit costs, combined with strong wealth management and corporate activities, is expected to drive fee income growth and boost the strong performance of Hong Kong banks in the first quarter of this year. However, due to the existing risks in the macroeconomic outlook, Morgan Stanley estimates that investors may be more concerned about the outlook for the remaining three quarters of this year. They predict that Hong Kong banks' future income will face pressure mainly due to the deteriorating interest rate outlook and potential slowdown in wealth management and corporate activities, which could impact fee income. Morgan Stanley has lowered their forecast for Standard Chartered Group's after-tax net profit for the next two years by 9% and 10%, and has also reduced their forecast for HSBC Holdings' after-tax net profit by 9%. They expect HSBC Holdings to announce a further $3 billion share buyback when they release their first-quarter performance. Morgan Stanley has given "hold" ratings to the H shares of both banks, and has lowered their target price for HSBC Holdings from HK$92.3 to HK$83, and their target price for Standard Chartered from HK$128.3 to HK$112.