Goldman Sachs Still Likes Barclays Among European Banks, Also Upgrades Credit Suisse

Back in 2008 many European banks set out ambitious strategic goals and financial objectives that were subsequently not met, marking a pattern that repeated itself - until now. In a note published Tuesday, Jernej Omahen of Goldman Sachs stated that "this time feels different" with the CEOs of

, Credit Suisse and Barclays having "changing incentives" and can deliver growth better than its peers. Omahen continued that the CEOs of the major European banks are "new and outsiders at the same time" and their incentives to persist with previous failed strategies and "ambitious" targets are low. At the same time, their incentives to implement new strategies and three-year achievable plans are "high." European banks are still "strained" by regulators and their capital positions "need to improve further." Using this as a starting point, Omahen suggested that the banks need their strategies to focus on costs and the best, highest-return businesses. The analyst expanded that this is an option as "most likely" at Credit Suisse and "less so" at Barclays.

(Note: The analyst's coverage and price targets are based on European-listed exchanges, not their respective US based ADRs). Shares of Credit Suisse remain Buy rated and were added to the Goldman Sachs Conviction List with a price target raised to SFr 32.50 from a previous SFr 30.80. Shares of Deutsche Bank remains Neutral with a price target lowered to €33 from a previous €34.60. Shares of Barclays remain Conviction Buy rated with a price target raised to p345.0 from a previous p335.0 Shares of UBS were downgraded to Neutral from Buy with a target raised to SFr 21.10 from a previous SFr 20.70.