Following China Construction Bank Corp's shares breaking a historical high, the leading bank among the six major state-owned lenders, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (601398.SH, 01398.HK), also saw its stock price reach a new all-time high. On July 30, ICBC's A-shares hit an intraday high of 8.16 yuan per share, marking a new high for the year. By the close of trading that day, ICBC's A-shares settled at 8.15 yuan per share. On July 6, the company's stock price had touched a recent low of 6.95 yuan per share, meaning it has surged over 17% in less than a month. On July 31, the bank's share price retreated slightly, closing at 7.99 yuan per share, bringing the combined market capitalization of ICBC's A-shares and H-shares to nearly 2.77 trillion yuan.
The sustained strength in ICBC's share price is underpinned by concurrent changes on both the asset and liability sides of its balance sheet. On the deposit front, on August 1, ICBC officially resumed the issuance of 5-year large-denomination certificates of deposit, which had been suspended for nearly a year. With ICBC following suit, all four major state-owned banks (Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and ICBC) have now fully restored the issuance of 5-year CDs. According to reports, in the first quarter of 2026, ICBC's net interest margin stood at 1.29%, a slight increase of 1 basis point from the full year of 2025, ending a period of continuous narrowing. This provides room to absorb higher-cost liabilities and gives the bank more incentive to issue 5-year CDs.
On the asset side, ICBC's core operating metrics are steadily improving, with both interest and non-interest income showing simultaneous improvement. In the first quarter of 2026, ICBC's net interest income reached 168.531 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.49%. Non-interest income totaled 61.839 billion yuan, up 10.45% year-on-year. This performance contributed to an overall revenue growth of 8.27% year-on-year, solidifying ICBC's position as the top earner among the six major banks. During the same period, ICBC's net profit attributable to the parent company also reversed its decline and rebounded.
On July 30, the banking sector was the biggest highlight in the market. All 42 A-share listed banks ended the day in positive territory, with ICBC's A-shares and H-shares both hitting record highs. After starting an upward trend in March 2026, ICBC's A-shares oscillated higher, reaching a yearly high of 8.16 yuan per share intraday on July 30 and closing at 8.15 yuan. On the same day, ICBC's H-shares touched a high of 7.66 Hong Kong dollars, also a record. On July 31, both A-shares and H-shares of ICBC retreated slightly, with the combined A+H market capitalization closing at 2.77 trillion yuan, maintaining its position as the most valuable of the six major state-owned banks.
Sustained buying by long-term capital, particularly from insurance funds, is a key driver supporting the stock price. In the first quarter of 2026, China Life Insurance Co Ltd significantly increased its holdings, while Taiping Life Insurance Co Ltd became a new entrant among the top ten circulating shareholders, with a market value of over 2.9 billion yuan, ranking as the ninth-largest shareholder. Guofeng Xinghua Insurance Private Equity Fund also bought in, becoming a new tenth-largest shareholder with a position worth 2.212 billion yuan. Ping An Life Insurance Co of China Ltd, CPIC Life Insurance Co Ltd, and New China Life Insurance Co Ltd have maintained long-term positions in ICBC's A/H shares. Insurers generally value ICBC's stable dividends and low volatility, making it a core allocation to match their long-duration liabilities.
Securities firms' analysts point out that ICBC, often called the "universe bank," boasts a massive asset base, continuously improving credit structure, ample provision reserves, and a turning point for net interest margin recovery. Coupled with its leading annual dividend scale among A-shares for consecutive years, its high dividend yield consistently attracts long-term capital like insurance and social security funds. As technology stocks corrected, funds flowed into defensive sectors like banking. As of July 30, Wind data showed that among the 31 Shenwan primary industries, the banking sector led in net main capital inflow over the past five trading days, totaling 12.523 billion yuan. ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China saw net main capital inflows of 1.176 billion yuan and 1.157 billion yuan, respectively, over the same period. Other banks like Industrial Bank Co Ltd, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, Ping An Bank Co Ltd, China Merchants Bank Co Ltd, and China Construction Bank Corp also saw net main inflows exceeding 500 million yuan.
Beyond capital market factors, expectations of fundamental improvement are a significant reason for ICBC's rising share price. Data shows that in Q1 2026, ICBC achieved operating revenue of 230.37 billion yuan, an 8.27% year-on-year increase, ranking first among the six major banks. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 86.941 billion yuan, a 3.31% increase year-on-year, stabilizing after a decline in the same period of 2025. For comparison, in Q1 2026, China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China Ltd, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, and Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd reported operating revenues of 211.256 billion yuan, 206.255 billion yuan, 178.846 billion yuan, 69.618 billion yuan, and 96.162 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth rates of 11.15%, 10.49%, 8.44%, 4.89%, and 7.61%, respectively. Their net profits attributable to the parent company were 86.291 billion yuan, 75.185 billion yuan, 56.631 billion yuan, 26.162 billion yuan, and 25.726 billion yuan, growing 3.53%, 4.52%, 4.17%, 3.11%, and 1.9% year-on-year, respectively. In terms of dividends, ICBC has consistently been the top dividend payer on the A-share market. In 2025, the six major state-owned banks distributed a total of 427.4 billion yuan in dividends. ICBC's total annual dividend was 110.593 billion yuan, the highest among the six major banks, followed by China Construction Bank Corp with 101.684 billion yuan. Dividends for Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China Ltd, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, and Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd were 87.321 billion yuan, 72.917 billion yuan, 28.692 billion yuan, and 26.217 billion yuan, respectively.
ICBC's leading revenue scale among the six major banks is driven by a dual engine: the stabilization of its interest business and the high-speed growth of its non-interest business. Looking at the revenue structure, in Q1 2026, ICBC's net interest income was 168.531 billion yuan, a 7.49% year-on-year increase, second only to China Construction Bank Corp. The net interest income for China Construction Bank Corp, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China Ltd, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, and Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd was 153.468 billion yuan, 151.196 billion yuan, 116.143 billion yuan, 45.675 billion yuan, and 73.897 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth rates of 8.13%, 7.55%, 7.81%, 7.21%, and 7.32%, respectively. At the 2025 annual results briefing, ICBC Vice President Yao Mingde assessed that the net interest margin in 2026 would likely follow an "L-shaped" trajectory. Specifically, as ICBC's existing high-interest deposits gradually mature and the repricing of existing mortgage loans nears its end, combined with the bank's moderate adjustment of long-term deposit products to stabilize liabilities, the cost of liabilities remains controllable, and the downward pressure on the net interest margin continues to ease. In Q1 2026, ICBC's net interest margin was 1.29%, a slight increase of 1 basis point from the full year of 2025, ending a period of continuous narrowing. This provides room to absorb higher-cost liabilities, giving the bank more incentive to issue 5-year CDs.
On August 1, ICBC launched the first and second tranches of its 2026 5-year personal large-denomination certificates of deposit, with annualized interest rates of 1.6% and 1.55%, respectively. Both products require a minimum deposit of 200,000 yuan and support partial early withdrawal and transfer. At the industry level, after the six major state-owned banks collectively withdrew 5-year CDs in November 2025, several major banks have recently resumed issuance. Bank of China Ltd was the first to reintroduce the product on July 1, 2026, with a maximum interest rate of 1.6%. Agricultural Bank of China followed on July 8, and China Construction Bank Corp on July 10, all with a minimum deposit of 200,000 yuan and a maximum rate of 1.6%. ICBC is the fourth major state-owned bank to follow suit. Industry insiders suggest that besides the stabilization of net interest margins creating room for higher-cost liabilities, another key factor is the peak maturity of deposits arriving in 2026. Estimates indicate that the volume of time deposits with maturities over one year is about 50 trillion yuan, of which 5-year deposits account for 5 to 6 trillion yuan. To retain this massive amount of maturing funds, banks are offering corresponding term products to prevent deposit outflows.
Furthermore, ICBC's non-interest business showed strong growth elasticity. In Q1 2026, ICBC's non-interest income was 61.839 billion yuan, a 10.45% year-on-year increase. Within this, net fee and commission income was 40.916 billion yuan, rising 5.24% year-on-year. Businesses such as wealth management, asset custody, cross-border settlement, precious metals investment, and wealth management product distribution all saw significant volume growth, becoming new revenue drivers. As of the end of Q1 2026, ICBC's total assets stood at 55.77 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.29% from the end of the previous year. Total loans and advances were 31.65 trillion yuan, up 3.74%, and customer deposits were 38.59 trillion yuan, up 3.42% year-on-year, making its deposit and loan scale the largest in the industry. Credit allocation continues to tilt towards key areas of the real economy. By the end of Q1, technology loans exceeded 6 trillion yuan, and manufacturing loans surpassed 5 trillion yuan. Green loans and agriculture-related loans also expanded simultaneously. Inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises grew steadily, continuing the implementation of financial support policies. Asset quality remained stable, with non-performing loans reaching 413.876 billion yuan at the end of Q1, a slight increase from the end of the previous year, while the non-performing loan ratio remained unchanged at 1.31%. The provision coverage ratio stood at 214.38%, an increase of 0.78 percentage points from the end of the previous year, and the loan-to-provision ratio was 2.80%, indicating ample risk buffers.
Comments