Buy Hold Sell: Is it time to ditch the banks? 7 ASX financials stocks to watch

While much of the market has been nursing its wounds in 2026, the financial sector has been quietly holding up. But nothing stays comfortable forever. 

With a fresh rate hike hitting the market and bank valuations looking increasingly stretched, one of our guests this week puts it best - the banks are running on Wile E. Coyote physics. Off the cliff, still running - just haven't looked down yet.

So where does the smart money go from here? Because if the bank trade is getting crowded, the case for rotating into other parts of the sector, insurance in particular, is building fast. Higher rates, a more benign catastrophe environment, and valuations that haven't re-rated yet. It's a combination that's hard to ignore.

To work through it all, I'm joined by Julia Weng from Paradice Investment Management and Hamish FitzSimons from AllianceBernstein. Between them, they'll be analysing five stocks in the sector and sharing one high conviction pick each for where they see the real value.