Since the start of the current A-share market rally, banks have seen major shareholder increase their holdings for the first time.

On the evening of October 8, Bank of Suzhou (002966.SZ) released an announcement stating that they have received notification from their largest shareholder, Suzhou International Development Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Guofa Group"), stating that Guofa Group has increased their holdings in the bank by a total of 14,775,212 shares through the secondary market from September 19, 2024 to October 8, 2024, accounting for 0.40% of the total share capital of the bank as of September 30, 2024.

The announcement stated that the purpose of this recent increase in holdings by Guofa Group is based on their confidence in the future development prospects of the bank and their recognition of its long-term investment value.

It is worth mentioning that this recent partial increase in holdings by Guofa Group coincidentally occurred during a period of abnormal price fluctuations in Suzhou Bank's stock. Yesterday evening, Suzhou Bank also released an "Abnormal Stock Trading Fluctuation Announcement", stating that the closing prices of the company's stock on September 27, September 30, and October 8, 2024, deviated cumulatively by more than -20%; the bank's largest shareholder purchased a total of 5,938,550 shares of the bank's stock during this abnormal price fluctuation period.

In the announcement, Bank of Suzhou disclosed that as of now, Guofa Group has not yet put forward any follow-up plans for increasing their holdings.

The precise timing of the increase in holdings hit the low point of the current market rally, with the stock price rising by nearly 20% during this period.

According to the announcement, Guofa Group increased its holdings of Bank of Suzhou by a total of 14,775,212 shares through the secondary market from September 19, 2024 to October 8, 2024.

According to the market data from Hithink Royalflush Information Network, the stock price of Bank of Suzhou started this round of uptrend around September 19. Guofa Group accurately increased its holdings hitting the low point of Bank of Suzhou's current uptrend. Data shows that as of the close on September 19, the stock price of Bank of Suzhou closed at 6.82 yuan per share. As of the close on October 8, the stock price of Bank of Suzhou has risen to 8.18 yuan per share, with an increase of nearly 20% during this period. In addition, statistics show that as of yesterday's close, Bank of Suzhou's increase since the beginning of the year has been 33.38%.

According to the announcement, after this increase, Guofa Group holds a total of 448,175,212 shares of Bank of Suzhou, increasing its shareholding ratio from 11.82% to 12.20%, still being the largest shareholder of Bank of Suzhou.

Cailian News reporter found in the past announcements of Bank of Suzhou that this is the second time Guofa Group has increased its holdings of Bank of Suzhou during the year. However, this increase through the secondary market is the first time this year.

On February 22, Bank of Suzhou issued a 'Notice of Changes in Shareholders' Equity Holding More Than 5% of Shares Exceeding 1%' as Guofa Group increased its holdings of Bank of Suzhou by 433.4 million shares through other (non-cash transfer) means. After the increase, Guofa Group's shareholding ratio increased from 9.60% to 11.82%.

The first major shareholder increase in the current banking stock market trend.

In addition, according to data from Hithink Royalflush Information Network, the current trend of Bank of Suzhou is synchronized with the overall banking sector. Hithink Royalflush Information Network's banking sector index shows that this index started this round of uptrend around September 19, with an increase of nearly 23% as of yesterday's close.

However, last night, according to the statistics of Choice by east money information, a Caixin reporter found that bank of suzhou was the first major shareholder of the bank to increase its stake since the start of this round of market upturn.

It is understood that since late September, the valuation of bank stocks has been continuously rising. The industry generally believes that with the expectations of RRR cuts, interest rate cuts, and stabilization and recovery of the property market, banks are expected to see improvements in net interest margins and asset quality.

Zhou Maohua, a macro researcher at the financial markets department of china everbright bank, said in an interview with Caixin reporters that recently, targeted policies such as interest rate cuts and RRR cuts have been introduced domestically. These policies not only guide the financial sector to increase support for the real economy, but also help banks optimize their liability structures, reduce borrowing costs, and expand the space for repricing deposit interest rates. The market has expectations for economic recovery and improvement in the operating conditions of banks. He expects that the operating conditions of banks will continue to improve in the future, and asset quality will remain good.

Galaxy Securities issued a research report on October 1, pointing out that there will be further policy measures, including lowering policy rates, introducing RRR cuts, and another potential rate cut in deposit rates to stabilize bank interest rate spreads. Continued government efforts are positive for government investments, leveraging complementary financing demands, providing support for short-term credit extension. Further optimization of real estate policies will boost demand, with policies such as purchase restrictions, adjustments in mortgage rates for existing homes gradually being implemented, accelerating the destocking of commercial real estate, improving liquidity for real estate companies, and helping optimize the asset quality of banks. The institution continues to be bullish on the allocation value of the banking sector.