The six major state-owned banks delivered a strong performance in the first quarter of 2026. Collectively, these banks achieved a total operating revenue of 992.507 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 356.936 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 9.05% and 3.63%, respectively. This translates to an average daily revenue of 11.028 billion yuan and a daily net profit of 3.966 billion yuan.
By the end of March 2026, the combined total assets of the six banks reached 225.3 trillion yuan. Both loan and deposit balances expanded steadily, standing at 133.1 trillion yuan and 159.68 trillion yuan, respectively, with quarterly increases of 5.46 trillion yuan and 6.85 trillion yuan.
A notable development is the stabilization and turnaround in the net interest margin for state-owned banks, which drove a broad-based increase in net interest income across all six institutions. Each bank recorded growth in this metric exceeding 7%.
Regarding asset quality, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratios of the six banks showed a mixed pattern described as "two increases, two decreases, and two unchanged," yet overall asset quality remained stable.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) maintained its position as the most profitable bank. Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank (CCB) both reported revenue growth exceeding 10% for the quarter, with Agricultural Bank of China leading in net profit growth among the state-owned banks.
Specifically, in the first quarter of 2026, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, CCB, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China reported net interest income of 1.68531 trillion yuan, 1.51196 trillion yuan, 1.16143 trillion yuan, 1.53468 trillion yuan, 456.75 billion yuan, and 738.97 billion yuan, respectively. These figures represent year-on-year growth rates of 7.49%, 7.55%, 7.81%, 8.13%, 7.21%, and 7.32%, all indicating positive growth above 7%.
In terms of non-interest income, the net fee and commission income for the same banks were 409.16 billion yuan, 302.08 billion yuan, 270.82 billion yuan, 399.78 billion yuan, 112.41 billion yuan, and 120.4 billion yuan, with growth rates of 5.24%, 7.85%, 5.58%, 6.72%, -3.04%, and 16.83%, respectively.
Focusing on their core role of serving the real economy, the six major banks actively implemented key financial policies. By the end of March 2026, the total assets of ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, CCB, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China were 55.77 trillion yuan, 51.03 trillion yuan, 35.59 trillion yuan, 47.13 trillion yuan, 16.27 trillion yuan, and 19.51 trillion yuan, reflecting increases from the end of the previous year of 4.29%, 4.6%, 3.22%, 3.29%, 4.66%, and 4.44%, respectively.
Their total loans and advances reached 31.65 trillion yuan, 28.48 trillion yuan, 24.45 trillion yuan, 28.95 trillion yuan, 9.44 trillion yuan, and 10.13 trillion yuan, with growth rates of 3.74%, 4.97%, 4.25%, 4.22%, 3.52%, and 5%. Total deposits absorbed were 38.59 trillion yuan, 34.52 trillion yuan, 27.17 trillion yuan, 32.42 trillion yuan, 9.69 trillion yuan, and 17.29 trillion yuan, increasing by 3.42%, 5.72%, 3.78%, 5.13%, 4.06%, and 4.54%.
In key business areas, Agricultural Bank of China reported loans and advances in county regions of 11.77 trillion yuan, an increase of 836.523 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, up 7.65%. CCB's technology loan balance reached 6 trillion yuan, growing by 750.889 billion yuan or 14.31% from the end of the previous year, serving over 350,000 enterprises. Postal Savings Bank of China's green loan balance stood at 1.07 trillion yuan, increasing 6.75% from the end of the previous year, a rate higher than the average for its total loans.
Concerning asset quality, the NPL ratios presented a varied picture. By the end of March 2026, the NPL balances for ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, CCB, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China were 413.876 billion yuan, 355.386 billion yuan, 297.011 billion yuan, 377.223 billion yuan, 122.466 billion yuan, and 100.593 billion yuan, resulting in NPL ratios of 1.31%, 1.25%, 1.22%, 1.31%, 1.30%, and 0.99%, respectively. The NPL ratios for ICBC and CCB remained unchanged from the end of the previous year. Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China saw their NPL ratios decrease by 0.02 and 0.01 percentage points, respectively, while Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank of China experienced increases of 0.02 and 0.04 percentage points.
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