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The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0802 GMT – S&U is likely to report annual profit weighted more heavily to the second half of the year, supported by an uptick in collections at its Advantage Finance business, continued asset growth and high credit quality at subsidiary Aspen Bridging, Berenberg analysts say. Berenberg leaves its estimates for the full year unchanged after the lender’s second-quarter trading update, and says it is awaiting outlook details at the interim results in September. Slower repayments at Aspen reflect a shift toward offering longer-term loans to customers rather than a decline in credit quality. This means fee income will be spread over a longer period, which will impact short-term profit. Berenberg maintains a buy recommendation on the stock with a 23.10 pounds target. Shares are down 0.5% at 19.60 pounds. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0732 GMT – European banks are set to benefit from accelerating loan growth among corporates, Citi analysts say. Business are starting to releverage, with corporate debt-to-GDP at multiyear lows. The U.S. bank believes this acceleration is sustainable and will be helped by AI investment. Banks in the U.K., Ireland and Netherlands are well placed to benefit from this trend, the analysts add. U.S. hyperscalers also require European debt financing, and AI investment should help fee and trading income, Citi writes. U.S. banks are best positioned to benefit from the trend, but European banks should also be boosted. ING, ABN AMRO and Societe Generale are particularly well-placed for lending and UBS and Barclays for new debt and equity issuance, Citi says. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0653 GMT – European banks are getting closer to the end of the current bull run, Citi analysts say. Banks continue to see upgrades to earnings per share, with 83% reporting second-quarter consensus pretax profit beats, Citi notes. However, upgrades have broadened to other sectors, which reduces their rarity value, the analysts add. Despite this, Citi remains overweight on European banks, and expects earnings upgrades to increasingly be driven by deposit and loan volumes rather than interest rates. “Yet faster organic & inorganic growth is likely to come at the expense of buybacks,” Citi adds. Valuations still aren’t expensive, the analysts say, but are no longer very cheap. Citi says its top picks in the sector are ABN AMRO Bank, NatWest Group and Societe Generale. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

1827 GMT – Scotiabank delivered a remarkably strong F3Q, and its long-term turnaround is picking up speed, says TD Cowen’s Mario Mendonca, upgrading the stock to buy from hold. The analyst says the bank is making more loans again in its core Canadian business and its international consumer market, while winding down less profitable corporate loans overseas. At the same time, provisions for impaired loans were down more than expected, Mendonca says. “The upgrade reflects renewed loan growth across the bank (except for non-retail IB—we expect some progress in ‘27), lower PCLs [provisions for credit losses], and ROE [return on equity] progression (particularly in CAD banking),” he says. TD also raises the target price C$141 from C$124. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1353 GMT – Bank of Nova Scotia’s adjusted EPS beat was driven by strength in its capital markets unit, according to TD Cowen’s Mario Mendonca. The analyst views the F3Q earnings as positive for near-term momentum. All bank net interest margin came in lower as international banking’s NIM dropped 7 basis points quarter-over-quarter. “While IB loan growth remains soft (non-retail) overall balance sheet growth was better than expected,” Mendonca says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1248 GMT – Companies are increasingly mentioning extreme weather and climate strategies in earnings calls, says Sara Mahaffy, RBC Capital Markets’ head of global sustainability strategy research. Mentions of extreme weather and climate adaptation strategies reached new highs in Europe’s second-quarter reporting season, the analyst says in a research note. RBC notes that insurers, including Hannover Re, highlighted rising risks from climate change and geopolitical uncertainty. Generali sees the protection gap—the difference between total economic losses and insured losses—from increased extreme weather as a major long-term trend, RBC says. “While these topics have typically been most in focus for utilities, insurance, industrials, and materials sectors, we are also starting to see a pickup in mentions among consumer and health care sectors in certain regions as impacts are increasingly felt,” Mahaffy says. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

1205 GMT – U.S. life insurance companies could face more pressure relative to their eurozone peers as regulators and investors increasingly scrutinize the firms’ exposure to the private credit industry, TwentyFour Asset Management’s Jakub Lichwa says in a note. U.S. life insurers have relatively larger investments in the private credit sector than their eurozone peers, making some U.S. insurers more vulnerable, he says. “We see European life insurers as more insulated from this year’s developments in the U.S., supported by the regulatory and fundamental picture in Europe.” (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1203 GMT – Bank of Montreal handily beat adjusted earnings expectations in F3Q thanks to strong performances in equity trading and wealth management. TD Cowen analyst Mario Mendonca says in a report that BMO’s adjusted EPS of C$3.96 topped his estimate of C$3.73 and the Wall Street consensus of C$3.77. All segments reported growth, Mendonca says, while the bank also had lower-than expected credit loss provisions of C$722 million versus TD’s estimate of C$755 million. Strong equity trading volumes helped prop up the capital markets and wealth management units, Mendonca says.(adriano.marchese@wsj.com)