At the 2026 interim results conference held today, China Construction Bank President Zhang Yi highlighted the bank's solid performance in the first half of the year, with the group's net interest margin (NIM) reaching 1.37%, a 3 basis point increase from the full-year figure of the previous year. He further noted that the second-quarter NIM stood at 1.38%, up 2 basis points from the first quarter, keeping the bank at a leading position among its comparable peers.
Zhang Yi attributed the improvement in NIM during the first half to both favorable external factors, such as the shift in China's economic development momentum toward new structures and high-quality growth, alongside a scientific and prudent monetary policy, as well as the bank's proactive management of both its asset and liability sides.
Looking ahead to the full year, Zhang Yi expressed confidence in sustaining the bank's competitive edge in NIM through disciplined management focused on the "Two Stabilizations and Two Optimizations" strategy. The first pillar is stabilizing overall scale, which involves fully integrating into the new landscape of modern industrial system development, proactively adapting to shifts in macro policy, market conditions, and client needs, and ensuring steady growth in total assets and liabilities. This includes dynamically optimizing portfolio structures to continuously enhance operational efficiency and maintain robust growth in net interest income.
The second pillar is stabilizing the pace of operations, anchored in the requirements of high-quality development. Asset allocation plans will be better aligned with market trends, competitive dynamics, and client demand, ensuring a balanced distribution between credit and bond investments while improving the profitability of non-interest assets. Liability management will continue to emphasize the balance between volume and pricing.
The third pillar focuses on optimizing asset portfolio allocation, concentrating on key areas such as the "Five Major Articles," infrastructure, and manufacturing to solidify the credit foundation. The bank will flexibly configure financial investment instruments, aiming to increase the proportion of newly added high-yield assets throughout the year.
The fourth pillar is optimizing liability structure and costs, which entails dynamically and nimbly arranging the types, tenors, and funding rhythms of central bank funds, interbank liabilities, and financial bond issuances. By broadening funding channels and deepening interbank client relationships, the bank aims to maintain its cost of interest-bearing liabilities at a reasonable level.
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