At the beginning of the new year, two satellites were launched simultaneously in the waters near Rizhao, Shandong.
One was Shanghai Pudong Development Bank's "SPDB Digital Intelligence" satellite, and the other was China Merchants Bank's "CMB Golden Sunflower." Both satellites belong to China's first low-orbit satellite Internet of Things constellation, the "Tianqi Constellation."
According to its description, the "Tianqi Constellation" provides global users with globally covered, low-cost, low-power, and convenient satellite narrowband IoT data communication application services.
Amid the boom in commercial aerospace, it is no longer uncommon for the banking industry to deploy satellites.
While Shanghai Pudong Development Bank is launching a self-developed satellite for the first time, China Merchants Bank is launching a satellite for the third time.
In December 2024 and March 2025, China Merchants Bank launched the low-orbit broadband satellites "CMB No.1" and "CMB No.2." Accordingly, China Merchants Bank has formed a low-orbit satellite communication matrix featuring "broadband + narrowband" synergy.
To date, three national joint-stock banks have launched a total of 6 satellites, with China Merchants Bank surpassing Ping An Bank to become the bank that has launched the most satellites.
China Merchants Bank's accelerated pace in satellite deployment is driven by two key intentions.
On one hand, remote sensing satellite technology can be applied to financial risk control systems.
China Merchants Bank has stated publicly that it has achieved high-precision construction monitoring for first-hand mortgage properties nationwide. Relying on high-resolution satellite remote sensing imagery, the accuracy of construction progress monitoring exceeds 95%, significantly improving the efficiency of traditional post-loan inspections. It also simultaneously provides satellite remote sensing property risk monitoring services for institutional clients such as housing provident fund centers, housing and construction departments, finance departments, and development and reform commissions.
China Merchants Bank places great importance on risk control within the real estate sector.
Internally, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for China Merchants Bank's real estate industry remains higher than in other sectors, but efforts to reduce the NPL ratio have shown effectiveness.
As of the first three quarters of 2025, the bank's NPL ratio for the real estate industry was 4.24%, a decrease of 0.50 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
During the same period, the bank's outstanding loans to the real estate industry amounted to 280.623 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.742 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, accounting for 4.15% of total loans and advances, down 0.22 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
Overall, newly generated non-performing loans at China Merchants Bank are gradually decreasing.
From January to September 2025, the bank generated 48.003 billion yuan in new NPLs, a year-on-year decrease of 202 million yuan. The NPL formation rate (annualized) was 0.96%, down 0.06 percentage points year-on-year.
Specifically, newly generated NPLs for corporate loans were 2.587 billion yuan, a decrease of 5.162 billion yuan year-on-year; newly generated NPLs for retail loans (excluding credit cards) were 16.263 billion yuan, an increase of 5.552 billion yuan year-on-year; and newly generated NPLs for credit cards were 29.153 billion yuan, a decrease of 592 million yuan year-on-year.
As of the end of September 2025, China Merchants Bank's total NPL balance was 67.425 billion yuan, an increase of 1.815 billion yuan from the end of the previous year. The NPL ratio was 0.94%, down 0.01 percentage points from the end of the previous year.
It is important to note that by utilizing satellite data, China Merchants Bank can monitor market dynamics, optimize risk management, and provide more precise financial products and services, which plays a role in reducing credit risk.
On the other hand, satellite assets can serve as leased objects, making them suitable for bank-affiliated financial leasing companies to expand their business.
In China Merchants Bank's 2025 interim report, it mentioned that its subsidiary, CMB Financial Leasing, fully focuses on new quality productive forces, with new quality productive force leasing business disbursements reaching 42.596 billion yuan during the reporting period.
During the period, it achieved a breakthrough in aerospace finance by using satellite assets as leased objects, executing the financial leasing industry's first satellite leasing project, with an initial disbursement of nearly 30 million yuan.
Established in 2008 with a registered capital of 18 billion yuan, CMB Financial Leasing has built three major business segments: aviation, shipping, and equipment. As of the first half of 2025, CMB Financial Leasing had total assets of 328.960 billion yuan, net assets of 39.769 billion yuan, and achieved a net profit of 2.839 billion yuan during the period.
Evidently, China Merchants Bank's satellite deployment is considered with long-term operations in mind.
As the President of China Merchants Bank previously stated, the operational risks faced by banks are characterized by their concealment, lagging nature, and contagion. "We cannot focus solely on current performance and interests; sacrificing long-term prospects could potentially sow the seeds for significant risk hazards."
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