Spain’s Bestinver has turned bullish on the financial sector, reversing an underweight position for the last three years to represent now 12% of the asset manager’s portfolio.
Beltran de la Lastra, chief investment officer of the asset manager of Grupo Acciona, told local media that the financial sector has attractive stocks such as ING, particularly favoured for its capital position, dividend yield and investment in technology.
“We don’t like the sector as a whole, but there are some opportunities,” he said.
In Spain, Bestinver favoured investment in the nationalised lender Bankia and Bankinter, which recently posted a 12% rise in Q3 net profit, due to its strong private banking and the integration of Barclays’ Portuguese retail unit.
De la Lastra noted about Bankia that it has “the best management team” of the Spanish banking sector, adding that “the extraordinary work of José Ignacio Goirigolzarri [Bankia’s chairman] will be eventually recognised”.
He also said the management of Bankinter is “far superior to that of other Spanish banks”.
In regards to Spain’s Banco Popular, by contrast, De la Lastra said “it has no capital” and, similarly to Deutsche Bank, he does not see it as an investment option, but, instead, as speculation.
