CITIC Securities: Banking sector is expected to reassess as "high certainty equity assets"

CITIC Securities research report believes that the most core factor affecting investment in the banking sector in the next stage is the change in the narrative of the capital market, that is, the continuous preference for high-yield financial assets on the funding side, and on the asset side, equity asset returns may exhibit long-term structural characteristics. As stable and high-return equity assets, bank stocks have long-term attractiveness for funding allocation. Looking ahead to 2026-2027, the banking sector is entering the tail end of the risk cycle, the first derivative of ROE has improved, and it is expected that the industry's absolute ROE will stabilize in the range of 8%-9% in the next year. After experiencing significant outflows of funds, there is potential for reevaluation towards "high-certainty equity assets," with immense absolute return potential.