S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank shares all lost ground in September.
Though all four of the big banks managed to outperform the benchmark index for the month.
How did ASX 200 bank shares track in September?
September lived up to its reputation as a poor month for stock market performance.
With investors fretting about high inflation, rising interest rates, and the spectre of recessions across major global economies, the ASX 200 finished down 7.3% from the closing bell on 31 August through to the final trading on 30 September.
As mentioned above, all of the ASX 200 banks beat that performance. Though some only barely.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) was the best of the lot, down a slender 0.10% in September.
Part of that may be that ANZ had lost more ground that its peers in the prior months of 2022. So we may have seen some bargain hunting at play.
The bank also has seen its net interest margins (NIMs) improve amid the rate rises from the RBA.
In its FY22 third quarter update, ANZ reported a 0.03% lift in NIM. Looking ahead the bank said, "With interest rates projected to increase further in coming months, this is expected to be supportive for margins in the fourth quarter."
Having covered the best performing ASX 200 bank share in September, we flip to the worst. Namely Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA saw its share price slide 7% over the month, barely edging out the benchmark index.
There was no real negative news from CBA over the month. But investors may be concerned over the premium the bank commands.
At 17.2 times, CBA shares trade with a significantly higher price-to-earnings (PE) ratio than its peers. ANZ, for example, trades at a PE ratio of 10.3. And with competition in the mortgage market heating up, CBA shares have come under some pressure.
And the other big banks?
Moving on to our last two ASX 200 bank shares, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) finished September down 4.5% and the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) closed the month down 5.8%.
Both banks look to have largely gotten swept up in the wider selling that drove the benchmark index lower, with investors concerned about a possible uptick in bad debts and lower levels of new mortgage offerings erasing any benefits from higher NIMs.
Westpac and NAB trade at a higher PE ratio than ANZ, but significantly lower than CBA. NAB trades at a PE ratio of 14.6 times while Westpac has a PE ratio of 15.4 times.
