We seem to have turned a corner with ASX bank shares. The ASX 200 banks have endured some of the worst selling pressure of recent weeks. Nowhere is that more clear than the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price.
ANZ shares are up a healthy 2.29% so far today at $21.88 a share. That's a very pleasing step up from the lows under $21 that we saw on Friday last week. But ANZ shares are still down by 14% over the past month alone. They also remain down by more than 20% in 2022 thus far.
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ASX bank shares have a rough start to 2022
Indeed, since we saw this bank hit a 2022 high of around $28.75 a share back in January, ANZ shares have given up around 24% of their value.
So with these kinds of losses under the belt, could it be time to pounce on ANZ shares?
Well, one investor who thinks so is Hugh Dive of Atlas Funds Management. In a recent piece for Livewire, Dive argued that ASX bank shares like ANZ are well placed to weather any inflationary pressures that might come our way. Here's some of what he said:
Rising interest rates have historically seen expanding bank profit margins, as interest rates paid on loans increased immediately… Rising interest rates increase the benefits banks get from the billions of dollars held in zero or near-zero interest transaction accounts that can be lent out profitably.
The May reporting season showed that Australia's banks are in good shape and face a better outlook than many sectors of the Australian market…
After the shock of last week's rate rise has been digested, we expect the banks to outperform in the near future, enjoying a tailwind of a rising interest rate environment and high employment levels, which will see customers make the new higher loan repayments.
So is it time to buy the ANZ share price?
But Dive isn't the only one bullish on ASX banks right now. As my Fool colleague James covered last week, analysts at Macquarie also see some potential in ANZ shares. Macquarie currently has an overweight rating on ANZ with a share price target of $34. That implies a potential upside of almost 60% on the current pricing.
This broker reckons the ASX banks like ANZ will benefit enormously from rising interest rates. It predicts that many savers won't bother to chase higher interest rates for their term deposits and, thus, ANZ will enjoy a tailwind as it raises interest rates on its own loans.
So that's two ASX experts who see good things ahead for the ANZ share price. But we shall have to wait and see if these predictions prove accurate.
In the meantime, the current ANZ share price gives this ASX 200 bank a market capitalisation of $61 billion, with a dividend yield of 6.61%.
