On October 31, CZBANK held its Q3 2025 earnings briefing. Addressing the net interest margin (NIM) trend, Assistant President Hou Bo noted that the bank's NIM has stabilized this year, with a Q1-Q3 NIM of 1.67%, down 4 basis points (BP) year-on-year. The decline has narrowed significantly compared to the full-year drop in 2024.
Hou Bo attributed this improvement to three key factors: First, CZBANK prioritizes NIM management, implementing a process control mechanism to actively counter the broader trend of margin compression. Second, the bank adheres to a "low-risk, balanced-return" asset allocation strategy while optimizing existing loan portfolios, leading to a slower quarterly decline in loan yields. Third, it has deepened liability structure optimization, reducing deposit interest rates by 28 BP annually, which significantly supported NIM stabilization.
Regarding future NIM trends, Hou Bo acknowledged persistent challenges: weak economic recovery, insufficient credit demand, and internal/external uncertainties. He expects continued pressure on banking sector NIMs in the near term.
Moving forward, CZBANK plans to refine asset allocation strategies to mitigate yield declines, increase demand deposit ratios, further lower funding costs, and strengthen NIM controls to stabilize net interest income.
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