Ping An Bank Co.,Ltd. held its 2025 performance briefing on the afternoon of March 23. President Ji Guangheng, along with senior executives including Chief Financial Officer Xiang Youzhi, Chief Compliance Officer Wu Leiming, Deputy President Fang Weihao, Assistant President Wang Jun, and Board Secretary Zhou Qiang, attended the session to address key market concerns regarding operational performance and risk management.
Discussing the overall performance in 2025, Ji Guangheng stated directly, "2025 was a challenging year for Ping An Bank, but it was also a year where we laid a more solid foundation for future development. Influenced by low market interest rates, continued support for the real economy, and proactive business structure adjustments, the bank's revenue and profit declined year-on-year. However, with the ongoing deepening of our strategic reforms, some operational indicators are showing positive trends. In 2026, we are fully committed to achieving the operational goal of returning to growth."
The previously disclosed annual report shows that Ping An Bank achieved annual operating revenue of 131.442 billion yuan in 2025, a decrease of 10.4% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 42.633 billion yuan, down 4.2% year-on-year.
Ji Guangheng added, "From an industry perspective, there are widespread challenges such as insufficient effective credit demand, pressure on risk prevention, and narrowing profit margins. However, based on the operational situation in the second half of 2025, especially the fourth quarter, the effects of many reforms at Ping An Bank have begun to show. Retail credit scale stopped declining in the second half of last year, credit cards gradually stabilized, and mortgage and auto financing balances achieved positive growth compared to the end of the previous year. Looking at the indicators for the first two months of this year, major operational metrics are already showing positive and improving trends."
Regarding strategic reforms, Ji Guangheng emphasized, "At the beginning of the year, during an internal bank-wide work conference, we emphasized the need to maintain strategic focus. We cannot introduce new initiatives every year; instead, we must persevere, step by step, to solidify our foundation and improve operations."
Notably, at the end of the meeting, Zhou Qiang reported that the online viewership for this performance briefing exceeded 210,000, setting a new high in nearly two years.
**Retail Business Turning Point Emerges**
As a core business segment for Ping An Bank, the progress of the retail business transformation is closely watched.
Ji Guangheng indicated, "The bottoming-out process for the retail business is largely complete, and dawn is breaking." Assistant President Wang Jun further elaborated on the effectiveness and current state of the retail transformation: "Over the past two years, Ping An Bank has proactively adjusted its retail business structure, optimized risk policies, and reshaped growth drivers. After this phase of adjustment, the most difficult period for the retail business has passed. Multiple core indicators are showing improvement and positive trends, and a turning point for the retail business is gradually emerging."
Data shows that as of the end of 2025, the number of retail customers at Ping An Bank increased by 1.9% compared to the end of the previous year. Assets Under Management for retail customers were approximately 42.38409 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.1%. Meanwhile, the number of wealth management customers grew by 2.4% year-on-year by the end of 2025. Specifically, the number of private banking customers increased by 9.1%, and their AUM balance grew by 0.8%.
Discussing retail asset quality, Wang Jun said, "It is preliminarily judged that retail business revenue and profit will further improve. While achieving profit growth, Ping An Bank will further strengthen the management of customer segments and the optimization of their structure."
Regarding the retail business strategy for 2026, Wang Jun outlined: "In customer management, we will more actively integrate into the ecosystem scenarios of Ping An Group. Through precise customer segmentation and differentiated product benefits, we will help customers meet core needs such as wealth management and health protection. Simultaneously, we will further optimize the Pocket Bank App, emphasizing companion-style services for customers. In terms of business development, we will further rationally arrange the loan structure, unleash the capacity of medium-yield asset businesses, and expand the total volume of consumer loans. In the area of wealth management, we will adhere to the principle of high-quality AUM growth and continuously enhance our asset allocation capabilities for customers. We will also further strengthen team building, continuously improving the team's capabilities in customer acquisition, activation, and value enhancement."
**Corporate Business Steps Up**
During the critical period of retail business transformation, the corporate business has become a vital support for stabilizing growth at Ping An Bank.
The annual report indicates that as of the end of 2025, corporate deposit balances reached 2,295.255 billion yuan, an increase of 2.2% from the end of the previous year. Corporate loan balances were 1,663.546 billion yuan, up 3.5%. The number of corporate clients reached 966,000, a significant increase of 13.2%.
Fang Weihao explained, "In 2025, the corporate business continued its previous momentum, filling the gap left by retail growth. Overall, corporate loans grew by 3.5% last year, while low-yield bill business was reduced by 130 billion yuan. So, from an overall results perspective, there has been some progress."
Fang Weihao also acknowledged existing weaknesses: "Within the corporate business, our customer base is still relatively weak. So, even while developing rapidly in recent years, we must remain cautious, learn from advanced peers, and strive to catch up quickly."
Xiang Youzhi added, "Over the past two years, we have been continuously building momentum in the corporate business. The number of corporate clients grew by 13.2% last year, which will provide a good foundation for business growth this year."
Ji Guangheng emphasized, "The corporate business has regained vitality during its recent complementary development phase. How we maintain this positive momentum, especially by focusing on 'customer segments + products,' without engaging in internal competition, will require further adjustments."
Addressing market concerns about corporate real estate risks, Wu Leiming provided a detailed response: "In 2025, the real estate market remained in a period of deep adjustment, with significant funding pressure on enterprises. Some large-scale private enterprises experienced risk exposure, which also affected Ping An Bank to some extent. The non-performing loan ratio for real estate increased compared to 2024. However, compared to the industry average, Ping An Bank's level remains relatively low."
As of the end of 2025, the non-performing loan ratio for Ping An Bank's real estate industry was 2.22%, an increase of 0.43 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
Wu Leiming further explained: "From a corporate perspective and the rhythm of risk formation, the first quarter was relatively concentrated. After the second quarter, both overdue loans and new NPLs decreased. The emergence of new risks has been effectively controlled, and recovery efforts have achieved significant results. It can be judged that the peak period for real estate risk formation has passed."
"While Ping An Bank will still face some pressure in the real estate sector in 2026, the risks are overall controllable," Wu Leiming stated.
**Returning to Growth**
Ji Guangheng repeatedly emphasized the core goal for 2026 during the briefing, stating, "We have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and are fully confident about returning to growth in 2026."
On how to achieve this return to growth, Ji Guangheng said: "In 2026, we will anchor our goals on 'focusing on operations, implementing synergy, and returning to growth,' and fully drive the stabilization and recovery of performance. We will unwaveringly adhere to the strategy of 'strengthening retail, refining corporate business, and specializing in interbank operations.' Simultaneously, we will seize the opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution, upgrading our technology-driven capabilities. We will enhance the application of artificial intelligence technology, increase resource investment, and substantiate the high-quality development of digital finance."
He further added: "Focusing on three key levers—digital employees, precision marketing, and precision risk control—we will fully empower operational management, striving to reduce costs and losses while increasing performance and revenue. We will strengthen the construction of our technological data foundation, deepen master data management and the application of external data, evolving from human-machine collaboration towards intelligent decision-making and automated execution models. Additionally, the bank will continuously deepen various operational management tasks, focusing on upgrading the financial management system, improving organizational and team building, consolidating comprehensive risk management, and driving capability enhancement across the bank."
Xiang Youzhi supplemented from the perspective of risk and cost management: "Over the past two-plus years, Ping An Bank has continuously promoted proactive structural adjustments. These adjustments are now largely complete, especially regarding the sufficient reduction and adjustment of high-risk asset businesses. Based on this foundation, the loan business in 2026 is expected to gradually align with the basic rhythm of the market. We have also made various adjustments in liability and asset structures. In particular, the interest-bearing cost has been gradually declining since the beginning of last year, which will provide greater support for net interest margin repair and revenue growth."
Xiang Youzhi revealed specific data: "In 2025, the average interest rate on Ping An Bank's interest-bearing liabilities dropped to 1.67%, a significant decrease of 47 basis points year-on-year. The average interest rate on customer deposits fell to 1.65%, down 42 basis points year-on-year. We are also continuously building energy in the corporate business; the 13.2% growth in corporate clients last year will provide a good foundation for this year's business growth."
Industry analysis suggests that, overall, Ping An Bank needs to find differentiated paths amidst common industry challenges, gradually achieving a bottoming-out and recovery in performance through business structure optimization and integration of group resources.
Furthermore, regarding the widely watched issue of dividends, Ping An Bank's disclosed cash dividend plan shows a proposed total cash dividend for 2025 of 5.96 yuan per share, totaling 11.566 billion yuan. This includes an interim dividend for 2025 of 2.36 yuan per share, totaling 4.58 billion yuan, and a proposed final dividend of 3.60 yuan per share, totaling 6.986 billion yuan.
Speaking about shareholder returns, Ji Guangheng stated, "Ping An Bank has always placed high importance on shareholder interests. This year, we still plan to maintain a reasonable dividend payout ratio, striving to create more value for investors."
Regarding the overall outlook for 2026, Ji Guangheng expressed: "2026 is a crucial year for Ping An Bank to return to growth. The entire bank will endure the pains of transformation, achieve continuous volume expansion and stabilization for retail, and actively expand coverage, stabilize pricing, and increase revenue for the corporate business. Simultaneously, we will further focus on key areas, accelerate credit allocation, stabilize deposit scales, achieve a positive cycle of 'volume, price, and risk,' and deliver a report card that satisfies the market."
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