China’s “Big Four” banks had a remarkable year in 2024, delivering impressive returns despite a challenging macroeconomic environment characterised by sluggish economic growth, low consumption, and a lingering property crisis. Total returns, including dividends, ranged from 44% to 58%, defying critics who had dismissed China as “un-investible”. Resilience Through the Property Crisis The property crisis in China has been a significant concern for years, with fears that the banking sector could crumble under the weight of bad loans. However, China’s banks have demonstrated remarkable resilience, both in their financial performance and stock prices. Notably, there have been no major bank failures, and the stock prices of these banks have risen over the past few years, proving their ability to weather the storm. Take Bank of China (BOC) as an example. I’ve marked the point on its stock chart where Evergrande defaulted on its loans—a pivotal event in the property crisis. Remarkably, this did not derail BOC’s share price. Instead,...