On March 31, CZBANK held its 2025 performance briefing. Regarding the structural adjustments in corporate banking, Vice President Luo Feng stated that the core task is to stabilize the net interest margin.
Luo Feng pointed out that corporate business accounts for a relatively large portion of CZBANK's overall operations, so stabilizing the asset side and the cost of corporate deposits has a significant impact on maintaining the bank's net interest margin. In 2025, the bank implemented four major adjustments on the asset side:
First, strengthening credit allocation within Zhejiang Province: Last year, corporate loans allocated within Zhejiang amounted to 62.6 billion yuan, accounting for over 80% of new allocations. Second, optimizing the credit structure: Over 40% of credit was directed towards sectors related to the "Five Key Areas," such as technology innovation and green finance. Third, increasing the allocation of transferable assets: The distinctive supply chain finance business developed rapidly, with the circulation volume of transferable assets, including domestic receivables, exceeding 300 billion yuan, hitting a three-year high. Fourth, enhancing comprehensive income management: Focusing on higher-quality clients and comprehensive returns, aiming to increase intermediate business income, secure settlement deposits, and boost overall returns beyond just credit.
On the liability side, Luo Feng revealed, "By the end of 2025, the cost of our entire corporate deposit base was reduced to approximately 1.6058%, or about 1.61%. This represents a reduction of nearly 35 basis points compared to the beginning of 2025, indicating a very substantial effort."
Luo Feng reported that the average daily balance of institutional deposits reached 274.8 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 37.4 billion yuan from the previous year, with the increment accounting for approximately 145% of the growth, demonstrating a prominent contribution. He noted, "Institutional deposits were previously a weakness in CZBANK's corporate business. We have been addressing this shortcoming in recent years, and the results now appear quite significant."
Regarding the development of corporate business in 2026, Luo Feng clearly stated that the bank will implement the group-wide "1155" business strategy, continuing efforts on both the asset and liability sides:
On the asset side, regionally, the focus will be primarily on Zhejiang and the Yangtze River Delta. In terms of sectors, guided by group-level industry research, efforts will center on enhancing quality and efficiency in key industries, fostering emerging industries, making early arrangements for future industries, and supporting the development of Zhejiang's "415X" advanced manufacturing clusters. For client groups, the focus will be on serving central state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and high-quality Zhejiang merchants. Regarding business scenarios, priority will be given to developing supply chain finance, cross-border finance, and syndicated loans and mergers and acquisitions.
On the liability side, the bank will persist with the effective measures implemented over the past year, intensifying efforts to attract deposits through business scenarios, improving the concentration of settlement funds, and including the expansion of institutional business.
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