Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) and NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) are the only blue-chip banking shares worth buying in London at the moment, reckons Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).
Analysts at the US investment told clients the FTSE 100-listed pair offered "better opportunities" than Asia-focused sector peer Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN), which was downgraded to a ‘neutral’ rating.
Lloyds and NatWest were reiterated on 'buy' recommendations.
Among the reasons behind the StanChart downgrade was that its shares have outperformed the European banking sector by 33% since August 2021 on the back of divergent rate hiking paths, but the analysts believe this has now “played out”.
Also, there is now “more limited benefit” for StanChart from higher policy rates in Hong Kong.