CITIC Bank Vice President: Confident in maintaining the continuous stability of asset quality by 2026

On March 23, Vice President and Chief Risk Officer Jin Xinian of China CITIC Bank (601998.SH, 0998.HK) stated at the bank’s 2025 performance release conference that they are confident in maintaining continuous stability in asset quality in 2026. With ongoing economic transformation and continuous improvement in the bank’s comprehensive risk management capabilities, asset quality is expected to continue to improve.

As of the end of 2025, China CITIC Bank’s non-performing loan balance was 67.216 billion yuan, an increase of 730 million yuan from the end of the previous year, a growth of 1.10%. The non-performing loan ratio was 1.15%, down 0.01 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The loan loss provision coverage ratio was 203.61%, down 5.82 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

Jin Xinian said that the main pressure comes from retail loans, and retail risk pressure is a common industry issue, and China CITIC Bank is no exception. Since 2024, in response to the industry-wide trend of retail risk, the bank has promptly conducted systemic reassessment, adopting measures such as joint prevention and control mechanisms for business and risk, and strengthening full-process credit management to continuously enhance independent customer acquisition and risk control capabilities.

“Our incremental growth has shown significant improvement, and the risk trend of major products is positive. We are confident in achieving a rapid stabilization of retail asset quality,” Jin Xinian said at the meeting.

He stated that mortgage loans are the cornerstone of China CITIC Bank’s personal lending, and the quality of mortgage assets has stabilized. The bank’s mortgage non-performing rate is 0.41%, down 0.08 percentage points from last year. The default generation rate is 0.29%, down 0.47 percentage points from the high points of the past two years, and the overall year operates at a low level.

Jin Xinian said that in the next stage, the bank will maintain strategic focus, adhere to systematic measures, and continuously improve risk management levels. Specifically, the bank will focus on three major areas and five major scenarios for corporate lending: traditional industry transformation and upgrading, strategic emerging industries and future industries, and large consumer sectors; as well as technology, green finance, capital markets and M&A, cross-border, and supply chain scenarios. Meanwhile, the bank will continue to adjust and optimize the structure of real estate and local government investment businesses, and strengthen retail lending around residents’ new consumption needs, integrating borrowing and long-term customer acquisition.

“Everyone has also seen that we anticipated the turning point in the real estate market early, and adjusted our credit strategies in a timely manner. Our real estate loan proportion has decreased from a high of 17% to 9%, which should have less impact compared to peers. Loans to the manufacturing industry now account for 21%, becoming our largest industry, with industry concentration continuing to improve,” Jin Xinian said.