Recently, the four major state-owned banks have successively convened their 2026 Party Building and Operational Management conferences to outline their strategic priorities for the year.
Highlighting their core business strengths and reinforcing competitive advantages, Bank of China (BOC) was the first among the big four to hold its meeting on January 26-27. While BOC's public announcements did not specify detailed operational targets for 2026, it emphasized three pillars for the group's high-quality development: establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, consolidating and expanding its global advantages, and effectively managing and resolving risks.
As meetings that integrate both Party building and operational management themes, the other three major banks similarly stressed the importance of the "correct view of political achievements." Regarding business strategy, BOC underscored the need to consolidate and expand its global advantages, explicitly committing to continuously enhance its global layout capabilities, global product and service offerings, integrated global marketing, cross-border RMB business capabilities, global technological support, worldwide compliance management, and participation in global financial governance.
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) emphasized that serving agriculture, rural areas, and farmers remains its top priority, with full support for comprehensive rural revitalization and integrated urban-rural development. It will focus on its primary responsibilities and main business, continually directing financial resources towards county and rural areas. ABC plans to increase credit support for key sectors including the entire grain industry chain, the construction of livable and business-friendly beautiful villages, and distinctive rural industries, while advancing farmer financial services with high quality. The bank will also establish a regularized financial assistance mechanism to help prevent large-scale relapse into poverty.
China Construction Bank (CCB) outlined plans to strengthen synergistic linkages, promoting the integration of commercial and investment banking, personal and corporate banking, local and foreign currency operations, and group-wide functions to improve the adaptability of its financial services. It will vigorously support the nation's high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, aiming to become a leading bank in technology finance, steadily advance digital and intelligent transformation, and continuously enhance the quality and efficiency of its services to the real economy. CCB also committed to comprehensively boost its capability to participate in international competition, strongly supporting high-level opening-up, and focusing on improving financial services in county areas to better serve integrated urban-rural development.
Serving national strategies and supporting the expansion of domestic demand remain central themes in credit allocation. Both ICBC and ABC stressed the importance of closely combining investment in physical assets with investment in human capital. ICBC proposed focusing on its core duties, integrating investments in physical and human capital, increasing loan disbursements and bond investments, deepening and refining the "Five Key Areas," and fully supporting the "Four Stabilities." It will intensify support for key areas including domestic demand expansion, technological innovation, and small and micro enterprises, as well as major projects and engineering initiatives outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan. The bank will also proactively serve "Two Key Areas and One Weakness," actively promote people's livelihoods and consumption, and aid the expansion and quality improvement of the service sector.
ABC emphasized adhering to the close integration of investment in physical and human capital, continuously increasing financial support for "Two Key Areas," "Two New Areas," and sectors like livelihoods and consumption. It plans to further optimize the "Five Key Areas," improve its technology finance service system, and fully support the construction of a modern industrial system and the development of new quality productive forces.
CCB, meanwhile, clarified its intent to provide comprehensive support for national strategies, back the expansion of domestic demand, promote the sustainable development of the financial "Five Key Areas," serve high-level opening-up, and facilitate coordinated regional development.
Notably, regarding risk prevention and resolution, all four major banks highlighted the crucial role of technology. BOC specified the need for effective risk prevention and control, focusing prominently on managing the concentration of credit risk, conducting forward-looking control of trend-based risks, solidly preventing technological and operational risks, and comprehensively guarding against risks from unbalanced business structures.
ICBC proposed accelerating the integration of its intelligent risk control platform into business operations and scenarios, effectively managing risks in key areas, and ensuring overall controllability of various risks and fundamental stability in asset quality.
ABC stated it would actively and prudently resolve credit risks in key areas such as local government debt and real estate, continuously strengthen risk prevention for inclusive and retail loans, and maintain superior asset quality. It also aims to enhance technological security resilience and improve capabilities for preventing and resolving new types of risks.
CCB stressed the importance of building a comprehensive, proactive, intelligent, and agile risk control system, advancing the early identification, early warning, early exposure, and early disposal of risks.
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