Global banking stocks: an enormous, enormous, enormous, enormous bull market

In yesterday’s article comments section, a friend shared some value-oriented fund managers with me—mentioning Yang Jinghan and Huatai-PB New Financial & Real Estate Fund. Yet nowadays, virtually all high-performing financial and real estate funds hold almost no real estate stocks; instead, they are predominantly invested in bank stocks, supplemented by insurance and brokerage firms—otherwise, their performance couldn’t possibly be so strong. The ‘Big Four’ state-owned banks have surged dramatically. Starting this week, market volatility intensified due to the hawkish remarks made over the weekend by U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller. Banks, along with the ‘Two Oil Giants’ (PetroChina and Sinopec) and coal stocks, jointly served as hedges against market uncertainty. Coal stocks plunged yesterday. (They’d risen too much; further increases in coal prices might trigger regulatory intervention—‘A4 paper’ being a colloquial reference to official policy documents.) Today, despite a sharp rise in U.S. oil prices overnight, the ‘Two Oil Giants’ fell sharply. (Purely irrational.) Only bank stocks—especially the major state-owned banks—stepped up alone to stabilize the market. (Storage remains essential.) Yesterday, Bank of China hit an all-time high in share price. Since 2021, haven’t all the Big Four state-owned banks delivered more than double-digit gains? It’s truly fascinating: six years ago, the dominant narrative was China’s unstoppable consumption upgrade as the world’s most populous nation—a grand, epic story. Today, that has been replaced by a narrative of peaking population and deflationary pressure. And yet, those very businesses once deemed ‘low-quality’ have delivered a five-year bull market. Back then, a popular and well-known investment strategy was ‘A-share consumer stocks + U.S. tech stocks’; these days, it’s evolved into ‘A-share dividend-yield stocks + U.S. tech stocks.’ While A-share bank stocks have surged, global banking stocks have simultaneously entered a massive bull market—whether listed in Hong Kong, Europe, Japan, or the U.S., the trend is universal. Global banking stocks: an enormous, enormous, enormous, enormous bull market. Although there’s no clear, globally synchronized industrial trend driving banks—as seen with tech or liquor sectors—their stock prices remain highly correlated across markets. 1. Leading the pack is Italy’s UniCredit Bank, whose total return—including dividends—is nearly tenfold. We know Europe’s economy is generally sluggish, and the region has had minimal presence in this AI revolution—instead grappling with migration crises and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Yet look at its banking stocks: Spain’s Santander Bank, the Netherlands’ ING Group, Germany’s Deutsche Bank, Switzerland’s UBS Group, and France’s BNP Paribas—all have delivered solid performance. HSBC, listed in Hong Kong and sharing identical rights with its UK-listed shares, has surged over 450%. Compared to the U.S. market’s heavy emphasis on growth-oriented tech stocks, Europe lacks prominent tech companies—but does host several large, globally operating firms in consumer goods and finance. Thus, in Western markets, the Nasdaq and S&P indices represent growth, while European equities broadly represent value stocks. 2. U.S. financial stocks aren’t top performers here, but Canada’s Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank—and Australia’s Commonwealth Bank—have posted similarly impressive gains. 3. Asian banking stocks are experiencing an outright bull market. Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group have soared roughly eightfold and sevenfold, respectively. South Korea’s KB Financial Group is up 400%—not matching Samsung or SK Hynix, but still highly profitable. Singapore’s DBS Bank has gained 350%. As for the Big Four Chinese banks listed in Hong Kong—Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China—their gains go without saying. Yet compared to peers above, they seem comparatively modest. Globally, aside from India—which has suffered a major bear market over the past two years, dragging down share prices—virtually every well-known bank stock has enjoyed a substantial bull run. So while domestic bank stock rallies are certainly driven partly by insurance capital inflows and dividend-seeking allocations, I believe there are deeper, globally synchronized factors beyond mere capital flows.

Century-old agribusiness giant Corteva splits into two

Following Corteva’s spin-off, the two newly independent companies will pursue distinct strategic paths: the new Corteva—focused exclusively on crop protection—will concentrate on the high-growth bioproducts segment, while the standalone seed company (SpinCo) will be able to sharpen its focus on trait innovation (e.g., Vorceed™, PowerCore™) and gene-editing technologies. This ‘dual-engine’ model enables each entity to tailor its capital strategy to its specific business profile, optimize investment efficiency, and enhance agility in responding to market shifts. #SmartSeedsGlobalLens Catalyst behind Corteva’s split According to insiders, this move aims to insulate the seed business from potential future liabilities arising from the crop protection division. Industry analysts note that investors increasingly favor pure-play companies, whereas the crop protection sector faces intensifying commoditization, pricing competition, and rising litigation risks. By separating the businesses, Corteva seeks to erect a legal ‘firewall’ around its high-value seed segment (e.g., significantly reducing glyphosate-tolerant trait products since 2021; in March 2023, Albaugh (U.S.-based AgriChem firm) announced its acquisition of Corteva’s glyphosate business). While proactively mitigating liability exposure, Corteva has also astutely seized a strategic window of opportunity amid signs of industry recovery. Technology Efficiency Score (2016–2022) Although the agrochemical industry currently contends with inventory drawdowns and pricing pressures, market recovery signals emerged in 2025: crop chemical and fertilizer prices rebounded, distribution channels normalized, and surging global food demand—amplified by climate-related uncertainties—has strengthened demand for high-yielding, stress-resilient seeds, creating a favorable external environment for Corteva. Leveraging continuous innovation in advanced traits (e.g., Vorceed™, PowerCore™), biopesticides, and gene editing, Corteva continues reinforcing product differentiation and pricing power—further consolidating its market share. Against a backdrop of sustained policy support for sustainable agriculture, the company is well-positioned to achieve above-industry growth through biological solutions. Meanwhile, by advancing cost optimization, supply-chain efficiency, and actively expanding into high-growth markets such as Latin America and Asia-Pacific, Corteva systematically enhances its operating leverage and profitability—laying a robust foundation for long-term growth and shareholder returns. Corteva CEO Charles Magro has hailed the seed business as a ‘rare gem,’ emphasizing the formidable industry moat built upon a century of germplasm resources and breeding expertise—and reaffirming Corteva’s ambition to become the world’s leading crop genetics research enterprise. #SmartSeedsGlobalLens Corteva’s Split: Opportunities and Challenges Corteva’s solid financial footing—evidenced by a 4.8% three-year revenue CAGR, a 14.68% operating margin, and a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.14—provides ample confidence for its transformation. Driven by food security imperatives and climate adaptation needs, the company’s growth trajectory remains clearly defined. Analysts project an average annual revenue growth rate of 3.1%, with operating margins expected to expand from 8.6% to 12.2%, potentially lifting net earnings to $2.3 billion by 2028. Despite the promising outlook of the spin-off strategy, Corteva’s path forward presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, the company must confront weakened synergies post-separation, transaction execution costs reaching hundreds of millions of dollars, and heightened competitive pressures and market volatility facing both independent entities within their respective domains.

RBC Raises Price Target on Corteva to $103 From $97, Keeps Outperform Rating

Jul 21, 2026

RBC Capital raised Corteva's price target to $103 from $97, maintaining an "Outperform" rating based on a positive outlook for the agricultural chemicals firm.

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UBS Raises Corteva Price Target to $88, Maintains Neutral Rating

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