China's four largest state-owned banks have reported standout results.
On the evening of October 30, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (601398.SH) released its third-quarter report, showing that in the first three quarters of 2026, the bank achieved operating revenue of 695.947 billion yuan, up 8.74% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 285.640 billion yuan, up 5.83% year on year. Both figures accelerated compared with the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, the results of Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, and Bank of China Ltd also showed accelerating growth.
In the first three quarters of 2026, the four major state-owned banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, earned a combined profit of 983.894 billion yuan, equivalent to a daily profit of 3.604 billion yuan.
The four banks continued to step up support for the real economy. In the first nine months, they issued a combined 6.94847 trillion yuan in loans and advances, averaging 25.452 billion yuan in daily lending.
The asset quality of the four banks continued to improve. As of the end of the third quarter of 2026, their non-performing loan ratios all edged down slightly from the end of 2025.
The four banks are actively rewarding shareholders. For the 2026 interim period, they declared combined dividends of 190.2 billion yuan, excluding preferred stock dividends.
In the secondary market, which has drawn considerable attention, the A-share prices of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and China Construction Bank Corp both hit record highs on October 29. As of that day's close, the combined A-share and H-share market value of the four banks stood at 10.03 trillion yuan, surpassing the 10 trillion yuan mark for the first time in history.
ICBC and CCB post quarterly profits above 100 billion yuan
With quarterly profits exceeding 100 billion yuan, both Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd and China Construction Bank Corp set record highs.
The third-quarter report shows that in the first three quarters of 2026, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd achieved operating revenue of 695.947 billion yuan, up 8.74% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 285.640 billion yuan, up 5.83% year on year. Compared with the same period a year earlier, both growth rates accelerated noticeably. In the first three quarters of 2025, the bank's operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders were 640.028 billion yuan and 269.908 billion yuan, up 2.17% and 0.33%, respectively.
The other three major banks, including Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, also posted faster results. In the first three quarters, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd recorded operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of 618.812 billion yuan and 236.546 billion yuan, up 12.33% and 7.10%, respectively; China Construction Bank Corp posted operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of 638.939 billion yuan and 274.226 billion yuan, up 11.37% and 6.55%, respectively; and Bank of China Ltd reported operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of 526.365 billion yuan and 187.482 billion yuan, up 7.16% and 5.53%, respectively.
The net profit attributable to shareholders of the four major banks in the first three quarters all reached record highs for the same period. Among them, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, known as the "universe's largest bank," remained China's most profitable bank, followed by China Construction Bank Corp, while Bank of China Ltd had the lowest profitability, with its net profit attributable to shareholders for the first three quarters nearly 100 billion yuan less than that of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd.
It is worth noting that in the third quarter, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd posted net profit attributable to shareholders of 111.958 billion yuan, the second time in its history that quarterly profit exceeded 100 billion yuan, up 9.97% year on year. China Construction Bank Corp's quarterly profit also hit a record high. Its third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders was 104.662 billion yuan, the first time in its history that quarterly profit surpassed 100 billion yuan, up 9.84% year on year.
In the first three quarters of 2026, the four major banks' combined net profit attributable to shareholders reached 983.894 billion yuan, equivalent to a daily profit of 3.604 billion yuan.
The four major banks actively supported the real economy. As of the end of the first three quarters of 2026, the outstanding balances of loans and advances issued by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, and Bank of China Ltd were approximately 31.42 trillion yuan, 28.13 trillion yuan, 28.67 trillion yuan, and 24.42 trillion yuan, respectively, increasing by about 1.71 trillion yuan, 1.95 trillion yuan, 1.75 trillion yuan, and 1.54 trillion yuan from the end of 2025, for a combined increase of about 6.95 trillion yuan. Based on this estimate, in the first nine months of 2026, the four major banks issued a combined 6.95 trillion yuan in loans and advances, equivalent to average daily lending of 25.452 billion yuan. This does not take into account loan recoveries, so the actual figure would be higher than the above data.
Net interest margins rebound and non-performing loan ratios decline
Why have the four major banks' results accelerated? A rebound in net interest margins, which boosted net interest income, is an important factor.
In the first three quarters of 2026, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd's net interest income was 519.054 billion yuan, up 9.64% year on year. In the same periods from 2023 to 2025, the bank's net interest income had continued to decline year on year. This means the bank's net interest income stabilized and rebounded after three years.
Over the same period, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd's net interest income was 472.541 billion yuan, up 10.59% year on year. China Construction Bank Corp and Bank of China Ltd reported net interest income of 470.406 billion yuan and 359.606 billion yuan, up 10.01% and 10.38%, respectively.
Their related net interest margins were 2.39%, 2.52%, 2.33%, and 2.08%, respectively, up 0.03 percentage point, 0.06 percentage point, 0.06 percentage point, and 0.03 percentage point year on year.
Along with the rebound in net interest margins, the non-performing loan ratios of the four major banks all declined slightly. As of the end of the third quarter of 2026, the non-performing loan ratios of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, and Bank of China Ltd were 1.29%, 1.23%, 1.29%, and 1.22%, respectively, down 0.02 percentage point, 0.04 percentage point, 0.02 percentage point, and 0.01 percentage point from the end of 2025.
The four major banks maintained steady dividend payouts. For the 2026 interim period, the dividend amounts announced by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, and Bank of China Ltd were 53.853 billion yuan, 45.393 billion yuan, 52.582 billion yuan, and 38.343 billion yuan, respectively, totaling 190.171 billion yuan.
In the A-share market, there has recently been an overall correction, with technology stocks falling more sharply, but bank stocks led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd performed well. On October 29, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd's A-shares closed at 8.78 yuan per share and China Construction Bank Corp's at 12.04 yuan per share, both hitting record highs. On October 30, the H-share prices of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd all hit record highs.
Based on the closing prices on October 29, the combined A-share and H-share market values of the four major banks, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, were approximately 2.95 trillion yuan, 2.59 trillion yuan, 2.34 trillion yuan, and 2.15 trillion yuan, respectively, totaling 10.03 trillion yuan, surpassing the 10 trillion yuan mark for the first time in history.
At present, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd's market value exceeds that of ChangXin Technology and it remains the top company by market value.
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