Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) held its 2025 annual results conference on March 30, disclosing full-year performance figures. In 2025, ABC reported a net profit attributable to shareholders of 291.041 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.18%, ranking first among the six major state-owned banks in terms of growth rate. Operating revenue reached 725.306 billion yuan, up 2.08% year-on-year, marking the second consecutive year of dual growth in both revenue and net profit.
President Wang Zhiheng stated at the conference that the bank's performance improved quarter by quarter throughout the year, demonstrating steady progress and enhanced operational efficiency, laying a solid foundation for high-quality development in the next phase.
By the end of 2025, ABC's total assets amounted to 48.78 trillion yuan. Total loans reached 27.13 trillion yuan, with new loans for the year amounting to 2.23 trillion yuan. Customer deposit balances stood at 38.69 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.71 trillion yuan for the year, indicating a stable core business of deposits and loans. The capital adequacy ratio was 17.93%, maintaining a leading risk resilience capability among peers.
Amid an industry-wide trend of narrowing net interest margins, ABC achieved stable profit growth by optimizing its business structure. In 2025, the bank's net interest margin was 1.28%, and net interest income was 569.594 billion yuan. Although slightly decreased year-on-year due to interest rate changes, growth in scale contributed an incremental 44.049 billion yuan.
President Wang indicated that for the first two months of 2026, the bank's loan growth was 1.1 trillion yuan, and net interest income had already stopped declining, potentially resuming growth in the first quarter of this year.
Notably, ABC's fee-based business performed strongly, becoming a key support for profit growth. Net fee and commission income grew by 13.34% year-on-year, significantly exceeding the industry average. Businesses such as wealth management, bank cards, and electronic banking showed significant growth.
Wang stated that ABC is accelerating its layout in high value-added businesses like wealth management, investment banking, and digital finance, promoting a transition in its revenue structure from reliance on interest income towards diversified and balanced sources.
In 2025, ABC's corporate loans increased by 1.79 trillion yuan, primarily directed towards manufacturing, infrastructure, and technological innovation. Personal loans grew by 448.5 billion yuan, with mortgage loans operating steadily and consumer finance expanding in an orderly manner.
Furthermore, by the end of 2025, the bank's technology loan balance was 4.7 trillion yuan, growing 20.1%; its green loan balance was 5.93 trillion yuan, up 18.7%; and its inclusive finance loans to micro and small enterprises reached 4.35 trillion yuan, with an increase of 749.9 billion yuan, fully aligning with national key directions such as advanced manufacturing, green and low-carbon initiatives, and specialized and sophisticated SMEs.
Regarding dividends, ABC proposed a final cash dividend of 1.3 yuan per 10 shares for ordinary shareholders, totaling 45.498 billion yuan. Combined with the 2025 interim dividend, the total cash dividend for 2025 amounted to 87.321 billion yuan, representing 30.00% of the net profit attributable to shareholders.
In terms of asset quality, financial reports showed that ABC's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 1.27% at the end of 2025, down 3 basis points from the beginning of the year. The overdue loan ratio was 1.25%, maintaining the best level among comparable peers. The loan loss provision balance remained above one trillion yuan, with a provision coverage ratio of 292.55%, ranking first among peers in both provision balance and coverage ratio.
Wang pointed out that the bank's NPL ratio has declined for five consecutive years. He stated that ABC will continue to strengthen risk management, prevent and resolve risks in the real estate and local government debt sectors, and accelerate the development of new inclusive retail credit businesses, expressing confidence that asset quality can remain robust this year.
Regarding risk prevention and control, Vice President Lin Li stated at the conference that risk management capability will become the core differentiator for commercial banks in the next 2-3 years. Facing risks in key areas such as real estate and local government financing vehicles, ABC adheres to a prudent risk appetite, avoiding reckless, "dishevelled" expansion and instead aiming for "clear and well-defined" growth.
Furthermore, regarding the application, construction achievements, and next steps for artificial intelligence (AI), President Wang stated that ABC is firmly seizing the wave of AI technological development. The bank has specifically established a Smart Bank Construction Office to enhance the coordinated advancement of smart bank development. It is also clearly focusing on intelligent agent applications and project demand to continuously improve the "AI+" capability system, striving to promote the intelligent and inclusive application of AI.
Wang stated that ABC will continue to fully implement smart bank construction, leveraging technology to continuously enhance the precision, convenience, and inclusivity of financial services.
Addressing the recent buzz around "LangChain," Vice President Lin Li introduced that ABC has launched its own "ABC version of LangChain." He emphasized that this is not merely following a trend; ABC utilizes this tool to automatically process and analyze data, intelligently generate due diligence reports, making the loan process more convenient, efficient, and secure.
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