China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. (600036.SH, 03968.HK), a leading joint-stock commercial bank, has released its 2025 performance report.
The bank recently issued an earnings preview, revealing that it achieved operating revenue of RMB 337.532 billion in 2025, a slight increase of 0.01% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 150.181 billion, rising by 1.21%.
By the end of 2025, China Merchants Bank's total assets exceeded RMB 13 trillion for the first time, growing 7.56% from the end of the previous year. Notably, the bank has expanded its asset scale by an additional trillion yuan for six consecutive years since 2019, effectively doubling its total assets over an eight-year span.
In terms of asset quality, the non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.94% as of December 31, 2025, down 0.01 percentage points from the year-end prior. This marks the fifth consecutive year the ratio has remained below 1%, indicating sustained soundness.
However, another key market concern is the bank’s return on equity (ROE), which declined again in 2025 to 13.33%, even as total assets grew steadily.
In the secondary market, the A-shares and H-shares of China Merchants Bank rose 13.23% and 32%, respectively, over the full year 2025. Ping An Life Insurance increased its stake in the bank’s H-shares four times during the year. As of January 23, the A-H premium stood at approximately -12%, making it one of the few dual-listed banks where H-shares trade at a premium to A-shares.
Net profit growth rebounded to 1.21% in 2025.
According to the earnings preview, China Merchants Bank posted operating revenue of RMB 337.532 billion in 2025, up RMB 44 million from a year earlier. Total profit reached RMB 178.993 billion, increasing RMB 341 million, or 0.19%. Net profit attributable to shareholders amounted to RMB 150.181 billion, rising RMB 1.79 billion, or 1.21%.
The bank also stated that its various businesses progressed steadily, with overall operations remaining in good condition.
In 2023 and 2024, the bank reported operating revenue of RMB 339.123 billion and RMB 337.488 billion, down 1.64% and 0.48% year-on-year, respectively. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 146.602 billion and RMB 148.391 billion, up 6.22% and 1.22%, respectively. Compared with the previous two years, 2025 marked a turnaround in revenue growth.
Breaking down by quarter, the bank recorded operating revenue of RMB 83.751 billion, RMB 86.218 billion, and RMB 81.451 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, with year-on-year changes of -3.09%, -0.36%, and 2.11%, respectively. Net profit attributable to shareholders came in at RMB 37.286 billion, RMB 37.644 billion, and RMB 38.842 billion, changing by -2.08%, 2.67%, and 1.04%, respectively.
Based on rough calculations, the bank’s fourth-quarter revenue and net profit were RMB 86.112 billion and RMB 36.409 billion, increasing 1.57% and 3.4% year-on-year. The net profit growth rate in the fourth quarter was the highest among all quarters.
Looking at revenue composition, the bank disclosed that non-interest net income totaled RMB 121.939 billion in 2025, down 3.38% year-on-year. However, the decline narrowed from the 4.23% drop recorded in the first three quarters.
The third-quarter report indicated that within non-interest income, net fee and commission income reached RMB 56.202 billion in the first nine months, up 0.90% year-on-year. Other net income fell 11.42% to RMB 35.176 billion, mainly due to lower returns from bond and fund investments.
By the end of 2025, total assets stood at RMB 13.07 trillion, an increase of RMB 918.487 billion from the end of the prior year. Total loans and advances amounted to RMB 7.26 trillion, rising RMB 369.743 billion, or 5.37%. Total liabilities reached RMB 11.79 trillion, up RMB 871.063 billion, or 7.98%. Customer deposits totaled RMB 9.84 trillion, growing RMB 739.543 billion, or 8.13%.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time the bank’s asset scale has surpassed RMB 13 trillion. From 2018 to 2024, total assets were RMB 6.75 trillion, RMB 7.42 trillion, RMB 8.36 trillion, RMB 9.25 trillion, RMB 10.14 trillion, RMB 11.03 trillion, and RMB 12.15 trillion, respectively.
Since 2019, China Merchants Bank has expanded its asset base by an additional trillion yuan for six straight years, effectively doubling in size over eight years.
Among joint-stock banks with total assets exceeding RMB 10 trillion, Industrial Bank Co., Ltd., China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank have also disclosed their 2025 results. As of end-2025, their total assets were RMB 11.09 trillion, RMB 10.13 trillion, and RMB 10.08 trillion, respectively.
For the full year 2025, these three banks reported operating revenue of RMB 212.741 billion (up 0.24%), RMB 212.475 billion (down 0.55%), and RMB 173.964 billion (up 1.88%), respectively. Net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 77.469 billion (up 0.34%), RMB 70.618 billion (up 2.98%), and RMB 50.017 billion (up 10.52%), respectively.
ROE fell to 13.33% as the bank implemented its first interim dividend.
While continuing to expand its asset base, China Merchants Bank maintained solid asset quality.
The non-performing loan ratio was 0.94% at the end of 2025, down 0.01 percentage points from a year earlier. This ratio has stayed below 1% for five consecutive years since 2021.
Additionally, the provision coverage ratio stood at 391.79%, down 20.19 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The loan provision ratio was 3.68%, declining 0.24 percentage points, indicating that risk absorption capacity remains ample.
However, another major market concern is the bank’s ROE, which declined again despite steady asset growth. Bank ROE is often correlated with share price and valuation.
The weighted average ROE attributable to ordinary shareholders was 13.33% in 2025, down 1.05 percentage points year-on-year. After falling below 15% in 2024, the bank’s ROE saw negative growth once more.
During a performance briefing in September 2025, President Wang Liang publicly addressed the decline in ROE. He stated that the level of ROE is closely tied to profit growth, net asset growth, and cash dividends. As CMB’s net profit growth has slowed over the past two years, ROE has decreased accordingly. Management places great importance on investor concerns and aims to maintain a relatively high ROE to deliver strong returns to shareholders. The bank will strive to preserve its leading position.
At the time, in response to investor suggestions to increase dividends and reduce the net asset denominator to support ROE, Wang noted that management would make balanced decisions considering the bank’s capital strength, business development, regulatory policies, and investor feedback.
It is worth highlighting that China Merchants Bank recently announced an interim dividend distribution for 2025, with total cash dividends amounting to RMB 25.548 billion, representing a payout ratio of 35.02%. Of this, A-share dividends totaled RMB 20.897 billion.
This marks the bank’s first-ever interim dividend. Including this distribution, cumulative dividends since listing have reached RMB 427.654 billion.
In the secondary market, Ping An Life Insurance increased its stake in CMB’s H-shares four times in January, March, June, and December of 2025. For the full year, the bank’s A-shares and H-shares rose 13.23% and 32%, respectively.
As of January 23, CMB’s A-share and H-share prices closed at RMB 37.5 per share and HKD 46.4 per share, respectively. The A-H premium was approximately -12%, making it one of the few A+H listed banks where H-shares trade at a premium.
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