Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Independent Insight Provider

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

Equity Bottom-Up

*Results Better, But Likely Unsustainable: Bank of America (BAC.US) [BAC] reported 1Q21 bottom-line results of USD 7.6 bn, increasing USD 2.4 bn (45.2%) linked quarter. Results were driven by two factors: a) a negative USD 1.9 bn, in contravention to overall credit performance; and b) a USD 2.1 bn (147.3%) increase trading activities, the sustainability of which we call into question; and*BAC Still Needs To Focus On Credit Quality: Given the USD 774 mn in NCOs (33 bp annualized of total loans), we note that net new NPLs reversed course – increasing a a high 74.8% on an annualized basis. JPM and Citigroup each reported declines. Relative to NPLs, however, reserves – while still significant – declined 67.4% to 3.00x while declining 24 bp to 1.79% against total loans.

*Results Better, But Likely Unsustainable: Bank of America (BAC.US) [BAC] reported 1Q21 bottom-line results of USD 7.6 bn, increasing USD 2.4 bn (45.2%) linked quarter. Results were driven by two factors: a) a negative USD 1.9 bn, in contravention to overall credit performance; and b) a USD 2.1 bn (147.3%) increase trading activities, the sustainability of which we call into question; and*BAC Still Needs To Focus On Credit Quality: Given the USD 774 mn in NCOs (33 bp annualized of total loans), we note that net new NPLs reversed course – increasing a a high 74.8% on an annualized basis. JPM and Citigroup each reported declines. Relative to NPLs, however, reserves – while still significant – declined 67.4% to 3.00x while declining 24 bp to 1.79% against total loans.

Bank of America – Not Exactly A Shining Result

Financials Credit Analyst

Hank Calenti, CFA

CreditContinuum

Credit

Executive Summary: The narrative has changed and there is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US dollar weakness and may be Emerging Market risk asset supportive. Nonetheless, we suspect that Asia will remain driven by concerns that China is tightening which could constrain investor sentiment in this market.Trading volume-, Treasury issuance- and economic data-risks were no match for short-position unwinding, data reappraisal, and Japanese investor re-entry into the Treasury bond market over the last week. Treasury yields continued their retracement, posting their biggest weekly rally since August. Furthermore, after the worst quarter since 1980, Treasuries have gained around 1% this month, paring 2021 losses to about 3.3%. We may have seen a sell-the-rumor, buy-the-fact market event occur with respect to Treasuries and the better-than-expected March economic data set.The narrative has changed to one that is Treasury bond supportive. Fixed income markets are discounting lower economic growth and price expectations. Scenarios with a declining growth rate may be increasingly discounted in the Treasury markets. With GDP growth anticipated to tail-off over the next few quarters, sustainable wage growth may not materialize. Meanwhile, supply chain bottlenecks and rising producer prices may negatively impact corporate margins rather than consumer wallets. We elaborate on each of these themes within.Against this backdrop, there are limited economic announcements which could impact the Treasury market over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Japanese investors may find buying US$ denominated bonds attractive after hedging the currency risk. This may be risk asset supportive going forward.  We review this inside.In the bank credit markets, March’s carry trade outperformance continued to unwind as shorter-duration bonds outperformed during the week. All recent higher coupon outperformers experienced large spread declines. Even the Turkish bank credit curve behaved in a manner consistent with other bonds globally, rather than trade at a discount. We identify the winners and losers.In China, while the immediate threat of Credit Armageddon may be lower, the ultimate game plan for China Huarong Asset Management is yet to be known. As such, the market may remain skittish while trading opportunities remain amongst the other asset management companies. Please see: <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/compose/insight/50463/China%20Huarong:%20Contagion%20Creates%20Opportunity.%20Read%20more:%20https:/skr.ma/SmFJQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China Huarong: Contagion Creates Opportunity</a> for more details.US banks set a high bar for performance by announcing stellar investment banking and progressively improving core banking results last week. Then they signaled that they anticipate significantly higher interest rates later this year by hitting the market for record breaking amounts. Middle East- and Asia-headquartered banks may lead the headlines next week. Amongst major European names, only Credit Suisse is scheduled to provide final Q1 results on Tuesday, 20 April. For our thoughts, please see: <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/compose/insight/50463/Credit%20Suisse:%20Skating%20on%20a%20Thin%20Layer%20of%20Capital.%20Read%20more:%20https:/skr.ma/rGLd5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Credit Suisse: Skating on a Thin Layer of Capital</a>.Market Outlook: Already looking past upcoming spikes in inflation and job creation, the Treasury market is repricing for lower growth and lower rates over a longer time-period. This should be risk asset supportive as the US dollar finally weakens. The risk is that of impotent monetary policy and a constrained fiscal response in a shorter than expected business cycle.

Executive Summary: The narrative has changed and there is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US dollar weakness and may be Emerging Market risk asset supportive. Nonetheless, we suspect that Asia will remain driven by concerns that China is tightening which could constrain investor sentiment in this market.Trading volume-, Treasury issuance- and economic data-risks were no match for short-position unwinding, data reappraisal, and Japanese investor re-entry into the Treasury bond market over the last week. Treasury yields continued their retracement, posting their biggest weekly rally since August. Furthermore, after the worst quarter since 1980, Treasuries have gained around 1% this month, paring 2021 losses to about 3.3%. We may have seen a sell-the-rumor, buy-the-fact market event occur with respect to Treasuries and the better-than-expected March economic data set.The narrative has changed to one that is Treasury bond supportive. Fixed income markets are discounting lower economic growth and price expectations. Scenarios with a declining growth rate may be increasingly discounted in the Treasury markets. With GDP growth anticipated to tail-off over the next few quarters, sustainable wage growth may not materialize. Meanwhile, supply chain bottlenecks and rising producer prices may negatively impact corporate margins rather than consumer wallets. We elaborate on each of these themes within.Against this backdrop, there are limited economic announcements which could impact the Treasury market over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Japanese investors may find buying US$ denominated bonds attractive after hedging the currency risk. This may be risk asset supportive going forward.  We review this inside.In the bank credit markets, March’s carry trade outperformance continued to unwind as shorter-duration bonds outperformed during the week. All recent higher coupon outperformers experienced large spread declines. Even the Turkish bank credit curve behaved in a manner consistent with other bonds globally, rather than trade at a discount. We identify the winners and losers.In China, while the immediate threat of Credit Armageddon may be lower, the ultimate game plan for China Huarong Asset Management is yet to be known. As such, the market may remain skittish while trading opportunities remain amongst the other asset management companies. Please see: China Huarong: Contagion Creates Opportunity for more details.US banks set a high bar for performance by announcing stellar investment banking and progressively improving core banking results last week. Then they signaled that they anticipate significantly higher interest rates later this year by hitting the market for record breaking amounts. Middle East- and Asia-headquartered banks may lead the headlines next week. Amongst major European names, only Credit Suisse is scheduled to provide final Q1 results on Tuesday, 20 April. For our thoughts, please see: Credit Suisse: Skating on a Thin Layer of Capital.Market Outlook: Already looking past upcoming spikes in inflation and job creation, the Treasury market is repricing for lower growth and lower rates over a longer time-period. This should be risk asset supportive as the US dollar finally weakens. The risk is that of impotent monetary policy and a constrained fiscal response in a shorter than expected business cycle.  

Bank Credit Weekly: Narrative Change Pushes Carry-Trade Unwind as Treasuries Rally

*Results Should Only Get Better: JP Morgan Chase &amp; Co (JPM.US) [JPM] reported 1Q21 bottom-line results of USD 13.9 bn, increasing USD 2.2 bn (18.4%) linked quarter. Results were essentially driven by two factors: a) revenue growth at the Corporate &amp; Investment Bank (CIB) of USD 3.3 bn (28.7%) due primarily to principal transactions which increased USD 3.0 bn (103%); and b) a reserve reversal of USD 4.2 bn – increasing USD 2.3 bn (120%) over 4Q20’s provision reversal. The strength of the bottom-line, should allow larger capital returns in 2Q21 predicated on the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) dividend payout ratio test; and*Credit Improvement: JPM’s net new NPLs linked quarter amounted to just USD 638 mn or a 22.2% increase on an annualized basis – which is incredibly good. Given the current risk profile of JPM’s loan portfolio that the company remains over-provided for and that we will continue to see loss provision reversals until loan growth returns in some meaningful way.

*Results Should Only Get Better: JP Morgan Chase &amp; Co (JPM.US) [JPM] reported 1Q21 bottom-line results of USD 13.9 bn, increasing USD 2.2 bn (18.4%) linked quarter. Results were essentially driven by two factors: a) revenue growth at the Corporate &amp; Investment Bank (CIB) of USD 3.3 bn (28.7%) due primarily to principal transactions which increased USD 3.0 bn (103%); and b) a reserve reversal of USD 4.2 bn – increasing USD 2.3 bn (120%) over 4Q20’s provision reversal. The strength of the bottom-line, should allow larger capital returns in 2Q21 predicated on the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) dividend payout ratio test; and*Credit Improvement: JPM’s net new NPLs linked quarter amounted to just USD 638 mn or a 22.2% increase on an annualized basis – which is incredibly good. Given the current risk profile of JPM’s loan portfolio that the company remains over-provided for and that we will continue to see loss provision reversals until loan growth returns in some meaningful way.

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

Across our active Global fund universe, Value managers have seen $41bn in outflows over the past 5-years, compared to $65bn of inflows in to Growth funds.With Value funds capturing some long awaited outperformance this year, we analyse the current holdings set up among the 63 active Value funds in our analysis.Overweights in EMEA persist against underweights in Asia and the Americas.  Financials, Materials and Industrials are the key overweights versus underweights in Information Technology.US Financials are the standout overweight, with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/citigroup-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:279:1" rel="noopener">Citigroup Inc (C US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/american-express-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:916:1" rel="noopener">American Express Co (AXP US)</a> the key positions.  The FAAMG group of stocks remain key underweight holdings, though <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microsoft-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15273:1" rel="noopener">Microsoft Corp (MSFT US)</a> is the most widely held of the group. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tesla-motors-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20279:1" rel="noopener">Tesla Motors (TSLA US)</a> is almost totally avoided and in Asia, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:446:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pinduoduo-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27250:1" rel="noopener">Pinduoduo (PDD US)</a> screen as 'Unloved' by global active Value managers.

Across our active Global fund universe, Value managers have seen $41bn in outflows over the past 5-years, compared to $65bn of inflows in to Growth funds.With Value funds capturing some long awaited outperformance this year, we analyse the current holdings set up among the 63 active Value funds in our analysis.Overweights in EMEA persist against underweights in Asia and the Americas.  Financials, Materials and Industrials are the key overweights versus underweights in Information Technology.US Financials are the standout overweight, with Citigroup Inc (C US) and American Express Co (AXP US) the key positions.  The FAAMG group of stocks remain key underweight holdings, though Microsoft Corp (MSFT US) is the most widely held of the group. Tesla Motors (TSLA US) is almost totally avoided and in Asia, Meituan (3690 HK) , JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US) and Pinduoduo (PDD US) screen as 'Unloved' by global active Value managers.

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jpmorgan-chase-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:277:1" rel="noopener">JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co's (JPM US)</a> fortress foundation needs repair. Rather than a rock-solid balance sheet, JPM’s capital foundation needs to be strengthened to handle the leverage load. It has the lowest Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR) amongst the largest US banks and its Tier 1 securities suffer, in part, due to this. It is time to lighten the leverage exposure and add a layer of capital. This creates an investment opportunity.As the pandemic-induced economic crisis unfolded last year, we noted that JPM Tier 1 securities were over-bought relative to the leverage exposure risk at the institution. Please see: <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/compose/insight/49670/Bank%20Credit%20Weekly:%20US%20Capital%20Buffer%20Risk%20&amp;%20Q1%20Earnings%20Reports-%20JPMorgan%20Looks%20Slightly%20Overbought.%20Read%20more:%20https:/skr.ma/uQHaQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bank Credit Weekly: US Capital Buffer Risk &amp; Q1 Earnings Reports- JPMorgan Looks Slightly Overbought.</a>The Fed exemption of Treasury securities and deposits with the central bank from the SLR bought JPM time. Fast forward one year later to the expiration of these exemptions and, despite ample opportunity, JPMorgan did not issue Tier 1 securities until only two weeks ago when it brought a $25 par security. In additional to raising needed capital, the firm recently threatened to stop taking deposits. It may price itself out of the deposit market, temporarily, but this is not a long-term strategy. The SLR is the binding capital constrain on the firm’s asset growth. JPM needs to obtain or retain more Tier 1 capital. We quantify this within.We believe that JPM could easily bring a 10-year Tier 1 bond to the market and find between US$2 to US$3bn in demand, thereby taking the total Tier 1 financing needs, or balance sheet optimization equivalent, down materially for the remainder of the year. Based on its recently issued Preferred, we believe JPM could achieve a price of Treasuries plus circa 300bps in a 10-year Tier 1 note.Aside from its SLR level, JPMorgan’s credit metrics are on-par with, if not superior to, most other large systemically important financial institutions. And yet, as we present within, JPM’s Tier 1 bonds trade at a discount to materially weaker banks located outside the US. Furthermore, we find that JPMorgan’s 2025 callable Tier 1 bond is at least 40bps oversold as, in our view, its call option is overvalued by the same amount.JPM faces an inflection point with respect to its capital adequacy. Concurrently, the Fed may re-adjust the SLR requirements before year-end; however, we believe it would be foolish of JPM not to take the opportunity to increase its SLR in an improving economic environment. It should re-enforce the foundation of its fortress balance sheet. We believe investors should pre-position for this eventuality. We recommend overweighting JPMorgan’s Tier 1 securities.

JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co's (JPM US) fortress foundation needs repair. Rather than a rock-solid balance sheet, JPM’s capital foundation needs to be strengthened to handle the leverage load. It has the lowest Supplementary Leverage Ratio (SLR) amongst the largest US banks and its Tier 1 securities suffer, in part, due to this. It is time to lighten the leverage exposure and add a layer of capital. This creates an investment opportunity.As the pandemic-induced economic crisis unfolded last year, we noted that JPM Tier 1 securities were over-bought relative to the leverage exposure risk at the institution. Please see: Bank Credit Weekly: US Capital Buffer Risk &amp; Q1 Earnings Reports- JPMorgan Looks Slightly Overbought.The Fed exemption of Treasury securities and deposits with the central bank from the SLR bought JPM time. Fast forward one year later to the expiration of these exemptions and, despite ample opportunity, JPMorgan did not issue Tier 1 securities until only two weeks ago when it brought a $25 par security. In additional to raising needed capital, the firm recently threatened to stop taking deposits. It may price itself out of the deposit market, temporarily, but this is not a long-term strategy. The SLR is the binding capital constrain on the firm’s asset growth. JPM needs to obtain or retain more Tier 1 capital. We quantify this within.We believe that JPM could easily bring a 10-year Tier 1 bond to the market and find between US$2 to US$3bn in demand, thereby taking the total Tier 1 financing needs, or balance sheet optimization equivalent, down materially for the remainder of the year. Based on its recently issued Preferred, we believe JPM could achieve a price of Treasuries plus circa 300bps in a 10-year Tier 1 note.Aside from its SLR level, JPMorgan’s credit metrics are on-par with, if not superior to, most other large systemically important financial institutions. And yet, as we present within, JPM’s Tier 1 bonds trade at a discount to materially weaker banks located outside the US. Furthermore, we find that JPMorgan’s 2025 callable Tier 1 bond is at least 40bps oversold as, in our view, its call option is overvalued by the same amount.JPM faces an inflection point with respect to its capital adequacy. Concurrently, the Fed may re-adjust the SLR requirements before year-end; however, we believe it would be foolish of JPM not to take the opportunity to increase its SLR in an improving economic environment. It should re-enforce the foundation of its fortress balance sheet. We believe investors should pre-position for this eventuality. We recommend overweighting JPMorgan’s Tier 1 securities.

US Banks and the SLR Situation: Overweight JPM Tier 1 Securities

United States

Bank of America Corporation accepts deposits and offers banking, investing, asset management, and other financial and risk-management products and services.  The Company has a mortgage lending subsidiary, and an investment banking and securities brokerage subsidiary.

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Bank Of America (BAC US)

Bank of America – Not Exactly A Shining Result

BANK OF AMERICA: BAC's QOQ 1Q21 bottom-line increased 45.2% driven by reserve releases and trading (not sustainable). Net new NPLs reversed course...

Thomas J. Monaco

Bank Credit Weekly: Narrative Change Pushes Carry-Trade Unwind as Treasuries Rally

The narrative has changed. There is little to stand in the way of further Treasury market strength near term. This should lead to US$ weakness and...

Hank Calenti, CFA

J.P Morgan Chase & Co. – Well On Track

JP MORGAN CHASE: JPM 1Q21 bottom-line results increased 18.4% linked quarter due to principal transactions and provision reversals. This should...

Thomas J. Monaco

Where Are Global Value Funds Positioned?

With Value funds capturing some long awaited outperformance this year, we analyse the current holdings set up among the active Global Value funds...

Steven Holden

US Banks and the SLR Situation: Overweight JPM Tier 1 Securities

JPM’s fortress foundation needs repair. It has the lowest SLR buffer, and its Tier 1 suffers from this. Leverage slimming and a deeper capital...

Hank Calenti, CFA

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