The National Financial Regulatory Administration has released key regulatory data for the banking and insurance sectors for the first quarter of 2026. By the end of Q1 2026, the total assets of China's banking institutions, in both domestic and foreign currencies, reached 494.7 trillion yuan, marking an 8.0% year-on-year increase.
Within this total, large commercial banks held assets of 219.5 trillion yuan, up 10.6% year-on-year, accounting for 44.4% of the total. Joint-stock commercial banks held assets of 79.6 trillion yuan, a 5.4% increase, representing a 16.1% share.
In the first quarter of 2026, commercial banks collectively achieved a cumulative net profit of 632.3 billion yuan. By the end of Q1, the average return on equity stood at 7.97%, an increase of 0.19 percentage points from the previous quarter. The average return on assets was 0.60%, remaining largely stable compared to the end of the prior quarter.
As of the end of Q1 2026, the balance of loan loss provisions for commercial banks was 7.5 trillion yuan. The provision coverage ratio was 203.14%, with a loan provision ratio of 3.07%.
Excluding foreign bank branches, commercial banks reported a capital adequacy ratio of 15.00% at the end of Q1. The tier-1 capital adequacy ratio was 12.05%, and the core tier-1 capital adequacy ratio was 10.71%.
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