(Bloomberg) -- Veteran Wells Fargo & Co. analyst Mike Mayo said optimistic commentary from bank executives at an industry conference this week was “out of sync” with stock prices that have remained depressed most of the year.

“Bank stocks trade at among the lowest valuations since the great financial crisis, but you wouldn’t know it by talking to management teams,” analysts led by Mayo wrote in a note Friday. “They were not dismissive, but nor were they distressed.”

Financial stocks slumped this year after rising interest rates sent depositors hunting for higher-yielding alternatives to traditional bank accounts and touched off a series of bank failures that wounded sentiment. Proposed regulations that would require the largest banks to build up more capital have also weighed on shares.

The KBW Bank Index’s 21% drop this year compares with the S&P 500’s 14% gain, putting it on pace for its deepest yearly underperformance going back to the early 1990’s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Several executives who spoke at the BancAnalysts Association of Boston Conference on Thursday and Friday said credit is performing better than expected and net interest income should improve in coming quarters, Mayo said. Their commentary was tempered with reservations around rates, a potential recession and looming regulation, and investors spoke of similar concerns, he said.

--With assistance from Bre Bradham.

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