Total assets in banking and insurance sectors continue to expand
As of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the total on- and off-balance-sheet assets of China's banking financial institutions reached 498 trillion yuan, marking a 6.6% year-on-year increase. Among these, large commercial banks held 221.6 trillion yuan in assets, up 8.5% year-on-year, accounting for 44.5% of the total. Joint-stock commercial banks reported 80.4 trillion yuan in assets, a 6.2% year-on-year rise, representing a 16.1% share.
At the same time, total assets of insurance companies and insurance asset management firms stood at 43.9 trillion yuan, growing 6.2% from the start of the year. Property insurance companies posted 3.4 trillion yuan in assets, up 8.4% year-to-date, while life insurance companies reached 38.7 trillion yuan, a 6.2% increase. Reinsurers held 879 billion yuan, up 2.5%, and insurance asset managers had 149.1 billion yuan, rising 2.4% from the beginning of 2026.
Financial holding companies reported combined total assets of 29.1 trillion yuan, total liabilities of 26.1 trillion yuan, and net assets of 3 trillion yuan at the end of Q2 2026.
Financial services for the real economy see continued strengthening
By the end of the second quarter, outstanding inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises by banking institutions totaled 38.9 trillion yuan, a 9% year-on-year increase. Inclusive agricultural loans reached 15 trillion yuan, up 7.5% year-on-year.
In the first half of 2026, the insurance sector recorded original premium income of 3.9 trillion yuan, up 3.2% year-on-year. Claims and benefit payouts amounted to 1.4 trillion yuan, rising 3.8%. New policy count hit 66.8 billion items, soaring 27.4% compared to the same period last year.
Commercial banks maintain stable credit asset quality
At the end of Q2 2026, commercial banks (on a consolidated entity basis, the same below) reported 241.5 trillion yuan in normal loans. Non-performing loans totaled 3.7 trillion yuan, an increase of 52.3 billion yuan from the previous quarter, with the non-performing loan ratio standing at 1.52%, up 0.01 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.
Risk-absorption capacity remains broadly adequate
In the first half of 2026, commercial banks achieved a cumulative net profit of 1.2 trillion yuan. By the end of Q2, the average return on capital was 7.72%, while the average return on assets stood at 0.58%.
Loan loss reserves for commercial banks reached 7.6 trillion yuan at the end of the second quarter, with a provision coverage ratio of 202.87% and a loan provision ratio of 3.08%.
Excluding foreign bank branches, the capital adequacy ratio of commercial banks was 15.26% at end-Q2 2026, with a Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio of 12.12% and a core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio of 10.72%.
Liquidity indicators for commercial banks stay stable
As of the end of Q2 2026, the liquidity coverage ratio for commercial banks stood at 148.53%, down 3.12 percentage points from the previous quarter. The net stable funding ratio was 128.13%, up 0.43 percentage points. The liquidity ratio reached 80.97%, an increase of 1.22 percentage points. The excess reserve ratio for RMB was 1.37%, falling 0.10 percentage points quarter-on-quarter, while the loan-to-deposit ratio (RMB onshore basis) was 80.08%, up 0.33 percentage points from the end of Q1.
Insurance industry solvency remains robust
At the end of the second quarter of 2026, the average comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio for insurance companies was 180.6%, and the core solvency adequacy ratio was 133.5%, both well above the regulatory thresholds of 100% and 50%, respectively. Property insurers recorded ratios of 247.0% and 214.3%, life insurers reported 169.7% and 119.6%, and reinsurers posted 213.2% and 188.2% for comprehensive and core solvency, respectively.
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