[ET Net News Agency, 12 October 2020] Citi Research tweaked its target price for Bank
of China Hong Kong (BOCHK)(02388) to HK$23.3 from HK$23.2 and maintained its "neutral"
rating.
The research house said 1-month average HIBOR and LIBOR were down -67bps and -20bps
respectively in 3Q. Citi estimated 3Q NIM (net interest margin) to be down around 20bps,
driven by lower interest rates, asset margin pressure, and increased lower-margin IPO
related loans.
Citi noted that August system loan +4% versus June, helped by funding demand from mega
IPOs. BOCHK could partly offset the NII pressure via volume expansion. It expects 3Q NII
(net interest income) to be -15% QoQ/-28% YoY to around HK$8bn. (KL)