The year 2025 has been marked by "change" for Bank of Zhengzhou Co.,Ltd. In the past period, the bank has experienced frequent changes among its directors and senior management. The latest financial report indicates that there were 20 changes in directors and senior management positions throughout 2025, with 12 individuals departing.
Non-executive directors Wang Dan and Wang Shihao, along with independent non-executive directors Li Yanyan, Li Shuxian, and Song Ke, all left upon the expiry of their terms. The bank also saw the departure of three assistant presidents, Li Hong, Liu Jiuqing, and Li Lei, as well as three vice presidents, Fu Chunqiao, Guo Zhibin, and Sun Haigang. Furthermore, Li Hong, who had officially served as president for just over a year, announced her departure in February of this year.
The reasons provided for their departures included work-related, health, and personal reasons, without specific details. While previous discussions about the impact of such a large-scale departure have touched on internal disruption, the need for business adjustments, or management shortages requiring new appointments, a most direct effect has already emerged: Bank of Zhengzhou has saved a significant amount on executive compensation.
In 2025, the total remuneration for the bank's directors and senior management was 7.616 million yuan. This included an annual salary of 781,000 yuan for Chairman Zhao Fei and 1.065 million yuan for the departed President Li Hong. In contrast, the total remuneration for the bank's directors, supervisors, and senior management in 2024 was as high as 15.596 million yuan. Over the course of a year, management compensation was reduced by 7.98 million yuan.
The current senior management team at Bank of Zhengzhou now consists of only five individuals: Board Secretary Han Huili, Vice President Sun Runhua, Assistant President Zhang Houlin, Chief Risk Officer Pan Feng, and Assistant President Gao Rui. While the management structure is now less bloated, given the multitude of banking affairs, replenishing senior executives remains necessary. Currently, greater pressure falls upon Chairman Zhao Fei.
Zhao Fei has been at the helm of Bank of Zhengzhou for nearly three years. Under his leadership, the bank previously experienced consecutive years of declining revenue, such as decreases of 9.5% in 2023 and 5.8% in 2024. However, in 2025, Bank of Zhengzhou finally returned to a state of both revenue and net profit growth. The bank achieved a net profit of 1.909 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.44%, and operating income of 12.921 billion yuan, a slight increase of 0.34%. Despite this, the revenue growth rate remains relatively low.
Looking at the specific revenue structure, the bank's non-interest income is under pressure. In 2025, net interest income reached 10.864 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.82%, accounting for 84.08% of operating income. Non-interest income was 2.057 billion yuan, a decrease of 18.13% compared to the previous year, making up 15.92% of operating revenue. Within this, net fee and commission income was 406 million yuan, a decrease of 66 million yuan year-on-year, and other non-interest income was 1.651 billion yuan, a decrease of 390 million yuan year-on-year.
Bank of Zhengzhou is strengthening its financial resource allocation. In 2025, business and administrative expenses amounted to 3.559 billion yuan, a reduction of 154 million yuan, or 4.14%, compared to the previous year. Among these, office expenses were 10.646 million yuan, a significant decrease of 50.18%. Employee costs were 2.097 billion yuan, down 2.33% year-on-year, with wages, bonuses, and allowances totaling 1.452 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.08%. As of the end of 2025, the total number of employees at Bank of Zhengzhou was 6,052, a reduction of 128 from 6,180 the previous year. Based on the aforementioned wage figures, the average monthly salary per employee at the bank in 2025 was approximately 20,000 yuan.
Reflecting on 2025, Zhao Fei noted that against the backdrop of narrowing net interest margins and intensified industry competition, Bank of Zhengzhou has positioned retail transformation as a breakthrough point for high-quality development. As of the end of 2025, the bank's total loans amounted to 410.264 billion yuan, an increase of 22.573 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, representing growth of 5.82%. Corporate loans totaled 280.500 billion yuan, an increase of 4.30% from the end of the previous year, while personal loans reached 97.014 billion yuan, an increase of 6.66%.
Superficially, the growth in personal loans appears satisfactory. However, upon closer inspection, this growth was primarily driven by an increase in the scale of personal business loans and consumer loan operations. Some indicators remain less than ideal. Specifically, credit card loans in 2025 were 3.255 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.46% year-on-year.
Regarding asset quality, as of the end of 2025, Bank of Zhengzhou's non-performing loan (NPL) balance was 7.029 billion yuan, with an NPL ratio of 1.71%, which remains relatively high among A-share listed city commercial banks. The NPL ratio for corporate loans (excluding bill discounts) was 1.87%, down 0.18 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The bank's corporate NPLs are mainly concentrated in the real estate, wholesale and retail, and leasing and business services industries, with NPL ratios of 5.11%, 3.04%, and 1.23% respectively. During the same period, the NPL ratio for personal loans was 1.83%, an increase of 0.27 percentage points from the end of the previous year. Notably, the NPL ratio for outstanding credit card loans was as high as 2.76%, an increase of 0.21 percentage points from the previous year.
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