In January 2026, it was first reported that China Merchants Bank had appointed a new head for its credit card business, with Li Mingdong succeeding Liu Jialong as General Manager of the Credit Card Center. Further information reveals that the position of Deputy General Manager at the card center has also changed, alongside adjustments involving several primary branch presidents and vice presidents.
Li Sheng, previously Deputy General Manager of the Head Office Credit Card Center, is slated to become the President of the Guiyang Branch. Li Sheng formerly served as President and Assistant President of the bank's Ningbo Jiangdong sub-branch. He was appointed Vice President of the Ningbo Branch in August 2021 and assumed the role of Deputy General Manager of the Credit Card Center in June 2024. At a financial salon in Lujiazui this past January, Li Sheng commented that credit cards possess dual attributes of payment and credit, capable of enhancing consumers' purchasing power and smoothing expenditures through installment plans. He also noted that 60% of the data in China's credit reporting system originates from credit cards, underscoring their systemic value in risk prevention.
Ma Jun, Vice President of the Nanjing Branch, is nominated for the position of Deputy General Manager of the Head Office Credit Card Center. Ma Jun previously held the role of General Manager of the Wealth Management Department at the Shanghai Branch, where he contributed to the branch receiving awards from the head office for excellence in serving high-net-worth clients and in wealth management. Individually, he was recognized as one of the bank's top ten outstanding talents in 2018. He was transferred to Assistant President of the Nanjing Branch in January 2022 and promoted to Vice President in August 2024.
Hu Jin, the former President of the Guiyang Branch, is nominated to become President of the Hohhot Branch. The former President of the Hohhot Branch, Liu Lei, has already been transferred to serve as President of the Zhengzhou Branch. Hu Jin previously served as Assistant President of the Lanzhou Branch and was appointed President of the Guiyang Branch in August 2020. Corporate records indicate that the legal representative for China Merchants Bank's Hohhot Branch was changed to Hu Jin in February 2026.
In addition to these changes, prior to the Spring Festival, the appointments of several other branch senior executives were finalized, all representing internal promotions within the bank's system. On February 11, the appointment of He Fei as President of the Shijiazhuang Branch was approved. His previous roles include Vice President (acting President) of the Shiyan Branch, Assistant President of the Wuhan Branch, and Assistant General Manager and Deputy General Manager of the Head Office's Financial Headquarters. On January 27, the appointment of Zhang Lu as Vice President of the Taiyuan Branch was approved; she formerly served as General Manager of the Human Resources Department and Assistant President at the Taiyuan Branch. On February 12, the appointment of Chen Yanhong as Assistant President of the Fuzhou Branch was approved; she previously held the position of General Manager of the Debt Capital Market Center at the Fuzhou Branch.
Regarding the development of its management team, China Merchants Bank strictly implements a system of dual responsibilities for managerial posts, emphasizes the cultivation of managerial capabilities, and strengthens multi-position experience for its cadres. Simultaneously, the bank is enhancing its talent planning and layout, continuously improving its organizational structure, directing more human resources towards front-line operations, and strengthening staffing in key business areas, critical institutions, and essential positions.
As of the end of June 2025, according to the interim report, China Merchants Bank operated 143 branches and 1,800 sub-branches domestically, along with two specialized branch-level institutions (the Credit Card Center and the Funds Operation Center). Among these, there were 44 primary branches. The group employed a total of 118,068 staff, including dispatched personnel.
Against the backdrop of industry-wide narrowing interest margins and the credit card business entering a phase of competition for existing customers, China Merchants Bank, often referred to as the "king of retail banking," has begun a period of operational transition. Financial report data shows that as of the end of June 2025, the bank had 96.9267 million credit cards in circulation and 69.6332 million cardholders, representing a slight increase from the end of the previous year. However, compared to the peak in 2022, these figures had declined by 5.6% and 0.5%, respectively. In the first half of 2025, the bank's credit card transaction volume reached 2,020.96 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.54% year-on-year. Credit card interest income was 30.612 billion yuan, down 4.96% year-on-year, while non-interest income from credit cards fell 16.23% year-on-year to 10.471 billion yuan.
In the first three quarters of 2025, impacted by the decline in credit card revenue, the bank's bank card fee income decreased by 17.07% year-on-year to 10.526 billion yuan, and its settlement and clearing fee income dropped by 4.55% year-on-year to 11.111 billion yuan. Regarding asset quality, as of September 2025, the outstanding balance of non-performing credit card loans was 16.184 billion yuan, with a non-performing loan ratio of 1.74%, a decrease of one basis point from the end of the previous year.
With the credit card business appearing to have peaked, wealth management has become a stabilizing pillar of growth. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, the total assets under management for retail clients reached 16,597.523 billion yuan, an increase of 11.19%. The fact that both the new General Manager of the Credit Card Center, Li Mingdong, and the new Deputy General Manager, Ma Jun, have backgrounds in wealth management may reflect strategic considerations in this area.
At the third-quarter 2025 results briefing, Vice President Peng Jiawen stated that regardless of market changes, China Merchants Bank's goal to increase its market share in retail assets remains unchanged. The bank will continue efforts to enhance its market share in retail assets to bolster this foundational part of its business.
According to the bank's preliminary annual results for 2025 disclosed in January, overall operations remained sound. By the end of 2025, the bank's total assets reached 13.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 918.487 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, representing growth of 7.56%. In terms of performance, both operating revenue and net profit achieved growth. In 2025, the bank reported total operating revenue of 337.532 billion yuan, a slight increase of 0.01% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 150.181 billion yuan, up 1.21% year-on-year. Looking at quarterly performance, the bank's full-year 2025 revenue growth turned positive from negative, and the pace of profit growth accelerated, suggesting a potential inflection point in the bank's fundamental performance.
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