Over 4,200 A-share stocks declined while the banking sector experienced a collective rebound.

On September 23, over 4,200 A-share stocks fell and the Shanghai Composite Index briefly lost the 3,800-point level. However, the banking sector bucked the trend with a collective rebound, as all 40 banking stocks posted gains. Bank of Nanjing led the surge with a 4.78% increase, while Bank of Xiamen, Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Limited, and China Construction Bank Corporation rose over 3%. Bank of Suzhou, Agricultural Bank of China, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, and Qilu Bank gained over 2%.

Notably, China Construction Bank Corporation and Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Limited closed up 3.03% and 3.06% respectively, marking their first surge above 3% since March 31 and January 23 of this year.

Prior to today's rally, banking stocks had been declining for over two months. Wind data shows that from July 1 to September 23, the Wind Banking Index fell 6.76%, significantly underperforming the Wind All A Index, which gained 16.70% during the same period.

Wang Pengbo, chief analyst at Botong Consulting, stated that the current rebound in banking stocks is more of a technical correction, with previous downward pressure being released and some institutions potentially positioning at lower levels, driving a wave of sentiment recovery. However, the recent overall decline still reflects market concerns about narrowing net interest margins and asset quality pressure for banks, particularly against the backdrop of slowing macroeconomic recovery momentum, and this sentiment will not reverse immediately.

**Sector Trading Volume Reaches 45.5 Billion Yuan**

Regarding trading activity in the banking sector today, data shows that the sector's trading volume reached 45.51 billion yuan, significantly higher than yesterday's 25.489 billion yuan. Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Limited, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank Corporation received net main fund inflows of 560 million yuan, 243 million yuan, 246 million yuan, and 167 million yuan respectively. The banking sector received a total net main fund inflow of 1.655 billion yuan today, marking the first net inflow since September 10.

Today's surge in banking stocks could be described as a triumphant recovery. Since July, internal differentiation within the banking sector has intensified. Only four banking stocks - Agricultural Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, Bank of Xi'an, and Bank of Ningbo - posted gains against the trend, rising 15.48%, 10.60%, 5.03%, and 0.05% respectively during this period, while the remaining 38 stocks experienced varying degrees of decline, with Bank of Chongqing, Bank of Beijing, China Everbright Bank, and Bank of Shanghai falling over 14%.

Following two months of decline, the banking sector's dividend yield and valuation attractiveness are gradually recovering.

As of September 23, the banking sector's dividend yield has risen significantly compared to early July. According to Wind data, 11 banking stocks now have dividend yields exceeding 5%, with Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank and Changsha Bank reaching 6.91% and 6.82% respectively. As of June 30, only 2 banking stocks had dividend yields above 5%.

Currently, 17 A-share listed banks have announced or already distributed 2025 interim dividends, with total dividend payments of 237.54 billion yuan. Among them, Changshu Rural Commercial Bank, China Minsheng Bank, and Jiangsu Suning Bank have already completed their interim dividend distributions.

In Wang Pengbo's view, short-term trading opportunities for banking stocks are not obvious, but medium to long-term allocation value is beginning to emerge. Head banks with strong retail business and superior risk control capabilities offer low valuations and attractive dividend yields, making them suitable for conservative investors to maintain patience and build positions gradually.

Tian Lihui, Dean of the Financial Development Research Institute at Nankai University, stated that in a low interest rate environment, the "fixed income-like" characteristics of banking stocks remain popular. However, some joint-stock banks have been forced to reduce dividends due to narrowing interest margins and capital replenishment pressure, weakening their dividend appeal. Insurance funds and institutional investors tend to prefer state-owned major banks and quality city commercial banks that offer high dividends, low valuations, and policy support, while regional banks need to restore valuations through asset quality optimization or regional economic recovery.

Yu Fengwei, a special researcher at China Financial Think Tank, stated that based on current market conditions and banking industry development trends, this may be a good time for long-term investors to position in banking stocks. Although short-term market volatility may persist, considering that overall banking sector valuations are at historical lows and expectations for performance growth driven by economic recovery, banking stocks hold certain appeal.

**Multiple Banks Receive Significant Share Purchases from Directors, Supervisors, and Shareholders**

Recently, multiple banks have released share purchase announcements or disclosed purchase progress.

According to announcements, since September alone, seven A-share listed banks - Bank of Nanjing, Bank of Suzhou, Qilu Bank, China Everbright Bank, Huaxia Bank, Bank of Chengdu, and Bank of Qingdao - have released share purchase-related announcements, with purchasing entities including directors, supervisors, senior executives, major shareholders, and actual controllers.

Specifically, on September 19, Bank of Nanjing announced that its fourth-largest shareholder, Nanjing Hi-Tech, increased its holdings through centralized bidding transactions using proprietary funds from August 7 to September 18, 2025, raising its shareholding ratio from 9.00% to 9.99%.

Previously on September 11, Bank of Nanjing also announced that Zijin Trust, a controlling subsidiary of major shareholder Zijin Group, increased its holdings by 56.7798 million shares using proprietary funds, representing 0.46% of the bank's total share capital.

On September 16, Bank of Suzhou announced that as of September 15, multiple senior executives including Chairman Cui Qingjun, President Wang Qiang, and Board of Supervisors Chairman Shen Qi had cumulatively increased their holdings by 600,000 shares, with a total purchase amount of approximately 4.9604 million yuan.

On September 15, Qilu Bank announced that some directors, supervisors, and senior executives plan to voluntarily increase their holdings by no less than 3.5 million yuan using proprietary funds.

On September 11, China Everbright Bank announced the share purchase progress of controlling shareholder China Everbright Group, which had increased its holdings of 13.97 million A-shares through centralized bidding, representing 0.02% of the bank's total share capital, with a purchase amount of approximately 51.661 million yuan.

On September 10, Huaxia Bank announced the share purchase progress of directors, supervisors, and senior executives. As of September 9, relevant purchasing entities had cumulatively increased their holdings of 4.2293 million shares through centralized bidding, with a cumulative purchase amount of 31.902 million yuan, exceeding the lower limit of 30 million yuan in this purchase plan.

Yu Fengwei stated that with the gradual stabilization of the macroeconomic environment, market expectations for banking sector profitability have recovered somewhat. Meanwhile, share purchase announcements released by multiple listed banks demonstrate insiders' confidence in the companies' future development, which to some extent alleviates market concerns and enhances investor confidence. Today's rebound can be viewed as a result of market sentiment recovery and technical rebound.