Morgan Stanley has named Societe Generale as its top stock pick among European banks, seeing 35% upside for the French lender. The investment bank's analysts upgraded SocGen to an "overweight" rating and named it a top pick alongside ING Groep of the Netherlands and CaixaBank of Spain. GLE-FR .FCHI YTD line The analysts said European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates have likely peaked after aggressive hikes over the past year. Morgan Stanley forecasts a 13% average growth in European banks' earnings per share plus dividends in 2024 and 2025. Morgan Stanley sees room for cost cuts from internal mergers underway.

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Persons: Morgan Stanley, SocGen, Alvaro Serrano, Michael Christodoulou, Christodoulou, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Societe Generale, ING Groep, European Central Bank Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Spain, 2Q24, France