Lazard's Ryan: Chinese banks are 'truly mispriced'

Lazard manager Pat Ryan is optimistic on the prospects for Chinese banks despite a string of well-publicised problems, and has increased exposure to the sector within his Global Equity Income fund.

Ryan (pictured) upped his weighting to emerging markets amid the sell-off earlier this year, and sees Chinese banks as one of the most attractive opportunities. This is despite enduring concerns over an economic slowdown, a potential property bubble, and how the country’s ‘shadow banking’ network of unofficial lenders will deal with the government’s attempts to rein in credit growth. The manager said Chinese banks’ resilience has been underestimated by the market, and held 30% of his fund in global financials as of end-March. “We have a lot of exposure to the big [Chinese] banks. I...