After a three-month hiatus, two regional banks from Guangdong province have updated their listing progress.
In late June, Dongguan Bank and Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank successively updated their financial information for 2025 and submitted their latest prospectuses. Consequently, their IPO review status has officially been restored from "suspended" to "accepted," successfully re-joining the queue for an A-share listing.
Currently, five other banks, including Huzhou Bank, Hubei Bank, and Jiangsu Kunshan Rural Commercial Bank, are also awaiting listing in the A-share market. Since Lanzhou Bank went public on the A-share market in 2022, no new bank has made a debut for several years.
Status Change and Financial Performance
According to the latest financial data, the total assets of Dongguan Bank were RMB 689.281 billion, RMB 672.730 billion, and RMB 628.925 billion as of the end of 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively.
Over the past three years, Dongguan Bank has experienced a "double decline" in both operating revenue and net profit attributable to the parent company. From 2023 to 2025, its operating revenue was RMB 10.587 billion, RMB 10.197 billion, and RMB 9.301 billion, respectively. The lower of net profit attributable to the parent company before and after non-recurring gains and losses was RMB 3.765 billion, RMB 3.503 billion, and RMB 2.918 billion, respectively.
Its net interest margin has also continued to narrow. From 2023 to 2025, the net interest margin was 1.61%, 1.26%, and 1.19%, respectively, declining by 7 basis points in 2025 and 35 basis points in 2024 compared to the previous year.
As of the end of 2025, Dongguan Bank's non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood at 1.10%. Its provision coverage ratio was 191.50%, indicating sufficient loss provisioning. Its core tier-1 capital adequacy ratio was 9.09%, tier-1 capital adequacy ratio was 10.20%, and total capital adequacy ratio was 13.50%.
The total amount of loans and advances issued by Dongguan Bank was RMB 387.841 billion. The net amount after impairment provisions accounted for 55.24% of its total assets. The bank stated that credit risk related to loan business, specifically counterparty default risk, is its primary credit risk.
As of the end of 2025, corporate loans in the real estate sector at Dongguan Bank amounted to RMB 14.972 billion, while individual residential mortgage loans totaled RMB 37.036 billion. Together, they accounted for 13.41% of the total loans and advances issued. The balance of loans to micro and small enterprises was RMB 160.727 billion, representing 61.21% of its corporate loans.
Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank has also seen a continuous decline in operating revenue over the past three years. From 2023 to 2025, its operating revenue was RMB 6.861 billion, RMB 6.429 billion, and RMB 5.904 billion, respectively. Its net profit was RMB 2.382 billion, RMB 2.453 billion, and RMB 2.336 billion, respectively.
The balance of non-performing loans at Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank was RMB 2.294 billion, RMB 2.406 billion, and RMB 2.549 billion as of the end of 2023, 2024, and 2025, respectively. The corresponding NPL ratios were 1.49%, 1.43%, and 1.39%. The bank noted that, influenced by China's economic structural transformation and industry policy adjustments, it may face pressure from rising NPLs in the future and cannot guarantee it will maintain or reduce the current NPL ratio.
Most of the corporate loan and advance clients of Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). As of the end of each reporting period, the total loan amount to MSMEs was RMB 88.103 billion, RMB 93.033 billion, and RMB 104.811 billion, accounting for 95.57%, 95.86%, and 96.17% of its total corporate loans and advances, respectively.
As of December 31, 2025, Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank had total assets of RMB 351.069 billion, net loans and advances of RMB 177.452 billion, total customer deposits of RMB 252.925 billion, shareholders' equity of RMB 28.311 billion, and an NPL ratio of 1.39%.
Challenges for Regional Bank Listings
Currently, five other banks, including Huzhou Bank, Hubei Bank, and Jiangsu Kunshan Rural Commercial Bank, are awaiting listing on the A-share market. Among them, Dongguan Bank, Guangdong Nanhai Rural Commercial Bank, Hubei Bank, and Jiangsu Kunshan Rural Commercial Bank show a progress status of "accepted," while Huzhou Bank shows "under inquiry."
An analyst pointed out that the main challenges for regional banks seeking listings currently center on performance pressure, with net interest margins continuously narrowing and potential upward pressure on NPL ratios. Governance shortcomings are also evident, with historical issues like nominee shareholding and asset ownership verification being resolved slowly. Furthermore, there is a valuation dilemma, as the average price-to-book ratio for the banking sector is only 0.59 times, with a high rate of trading below net asset value, making IPO pricing difficult.
Another expert mentioned that the cooling of bank IPOs in recent years is related to adjustments in capital market policies. In the context of building a technologically strong nation, listing resources are increasingly allocated to support financing for technology-oriented enterprises. On the other hand, it is also connected to the volatility in the A-share market over the past two years. Given the large size of bank stocks, their listing's potential impact on market stability must be considered.
The expert further stated that at this stage, regional banks are in urgent need of capital replenishment. Support should be given to help them accelerate the establishment of a long-term capital replenishment mechanism, broaden their capital replenishment channels, innovate capital instruments, enhance their capital replenishment capabilities, and effectively carry out capital replenishment, especially for core tier-1 capital.
Listing holds profound significance for regional banks. An IPO directly supplements core tier-1 capital while also promoting standardized governance and enhancing brand credibility, serving as a critical springboard for their transformation and development. To enhance competitiveness, regional banks need to pursue a differentiated path, leveraging their local geographical and interpersonal advantages to deeply cultivate regional specialty industries, transforming localized information advantages into precise risk pricing capabilities to avoid homogeneous competition with larger banks. Simultaneously, they should promote a light-capital transformation, vigorously developing intermediate businesses such as wealth management and payment settlement to reduce reliance on traditional credit expansion and optimize their income structure. Additionally, they must strengthen technology empowerment, using digital tools to improve risk control and marketing efficiency while leveraging external ecosystems such as government data platforms and industry associations to achieve complementary capabilities and build a "small but beautiful" competitive advantage.
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