Bank of America: The investor seminars for HSBC Holdings (00005) and Standard Chartered (02888) will bring positive catalysts, continuing the preference for HSBC.

Bank of America released a research report stating that HSBC HOLDINGS (00005) and STANCHART (02888) will hold investor conferences in Hong Kong from the 19th to the 21st of this month. It is expected that this event will serve as a positive catalyst for both banks, as management will showcase strong operating trends in Asia, especially in wealth management and capital markets. The bank also pointed out that given HSBC's winning conditions in the Asian market, quality deposit business, and effective strategy execution by management to enhance its competitive advantage, the bank continues to prefer HSBC, giving it a "buy" rating and a target price of 158.25 Hong Kong dollars. The bank stated that wealth management has been an important theme for both HSBC and Standard Chartered in recent years. Hong Kong deposits have continued to grow at a rate of about 8% to 10%. The main drivers of deposit inflows and high stock market trading volumes are still present, and it is expected that the narrative of the Asian wealth business will further benefit from strong performance in capital market activities and support from new policy measures. The bank also mentioned that Hong Kong led the global fundraising amount in the first quarter, and despite rising geopolitical uncertainties, the strong momentum is expected to continue, with the mainland focusing more on supporting high-quality enterprises to go global and accelerating the internationalization of the renminbi. The bank also mentioned that Standard Chartered has committed to providing mid-term financial guidance at this event. Expected guidance will include tangible return on tangible equity (ROTE), cost and income growth, key performance indicators for wealth management, and capital return. In the base case scenario, the bank predicts that Standard Chartered can achieve double-digit ROTE and announce that capital return will translate to an annual total return rate of about 8%; In the optimistic scenario, it is expected that by 2028, a ROTE of nearly 20% can be achieved, as well as an annual total return rate of around 9% to 10%.