Glonghui, April 19 | Goldman Sachs published a research report stating that the average pre-provision profit of domestic banks covered in the first quarter is expected to drop 5% year-on-year, while net profit will increase by an average of 1%. The bank expects BOC profits to continue to weaken in the first quarter due to weak net interest spreads and slowing loan growth. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, provision disbursements will continue to drive net profit growth, and the density of risk-weighted assets (RWA) will decrease further as domestic banks hold more government bonds. The bank mentioned that CCB's balance sheet is stronger than that of its peers, so it can maintain a stable dividend payout, and the target price was raised from HK$4.62 to HK$5.19. Although China Merchants Bank is likely to continue to pay dividends, its overall valuation and revenue growth still faced challenges, giving it a “neutral” rating, and the target price was lowered from HK$31.62 to HK$30.83. In addition, Goldman Sachs pointed out that Bank of Ningbo's dividend yield is lower, but its profit per share is probably higher than that of its peers, and its profit growth before provision is still ahead of its peers. The rating is “buy”, and the target price was lowered from 30.68 yuan to 26.7 yuan; Industrial Bank's credit losses were uncertain, and the target price was lowered from 11 yuan to 10.8 yuan.