Bank Annual Report Season: Ping An Bank's retail sector shows a turnaround, CITIC Bank's dividend payout ratio reaches 31.75%

Ask AI · Non-interest net income generally declines—why has CITIC Bank still grown against the trend?

By Wu Haisan

Edited by Lin Weiping

The disclosure of 2025 annual reports from listed banks has begun. Ping An Bank (000001.SZ), CITIC Bank (601998.SH), Chongqing Bank, and Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank were among the first to release their annual performance reports. Each bank’s financial statement features distinct characteristics and highlights.

Ping An’s retail asset quality has passed the peak of problem loan exposure, CITIC’s dividend payout ratio has risen to 31.75%, Chongqing Bank’s growth rates in multiple indicators have exceeded 20%, and Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank’s fundamentals remain solid. However, at the same time, the widespread decline in non-interest net income has become a common trend among several banks.

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Ping An Bank: Retail business shows a significant rebound

Ping An Bank remains the first A-share bank to publish its annual report.

On March 21, Ping An Bank released its 2025 financial report. The report shows that as of the end of 2025, Ping An Bank’s total assets reached 59.25777 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.7% from the previous year’s end. Operating income for 2025 was 131.442 billion yuan, down 10.4% year-over-year, and net profit was 42.633 billion yuan, down 4.2% year-over-year.

However, market attention was drawn to the changes in its retail business. Ping An Bank is one of the benchmark retail banks among A-shares. Its strategic goal is to become “China’s most outstanding and globally leading intelligent retail bank,” but in recent years, the retail segment has faced pressure.

Nevertheless, the 2025 financial report indicates that Ping An Bank’s retail business may be turning a corner. According to the report, in 2025, retail operating income was 61.626 billion yuan, accounting for 46.9% of total revenue, down from 48.6% in 2024. However, the retail segment’s net profit share within the bank’s total net profit increased significantly compared to 2024. In 2024, retail contributed only 0.6% of net profit; in 2025, this rose to 6.3%.

At the same time, the report shows that Ping An Bank’s personal loan non-performing loan (NPL) ratio decreased from 1.39% in 2024 to 1.23% in 2025, a decline of 0.16 percentage points. The bank stated that this was mainly due to ongoing optimization of its retail asset portfolio, increasing the proportion of high-quality customers, and promoting a balanced approach across “volume, price, and insurance.” The report indicates that retail loans totaled 17.227294 trillion yuan in 2025, down 2.3% year-over-year.

CITIC Securities analyst Ma Kunpeng noted that the peak period of retail credit exposure at Ping An Bank has passed, loan structure continues to be optimized, and the decline in net interest margin has narrowed further. With a low base, the bank’s profit growth in 2026 is expected to recover to positive levels.

CITIC Bank: Increase in cash dividend payout ratio

CITIC Bank released its 2025 annual report on the same day as Ping An Bank. The most notable aspect of CITIC’s report was the increase in its dividend payout ratio.

CITIC’s dividend plan shows that it intends to pay a cash dividend of 1.93 yuan per 10 shares (including tax) to A- and H-share shareholders. The total cash dividend for common shareholders is 10.740 billion yuan, combined with interim dividends of 10.461 billion yuan (cash dividend of 1.88 yuan per 10 shares). The total annual cash dividend amounts to 21.201 billion yuan (cash dividend of 3.81 yuan per 10 shares), representing 31.75% of its net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders after consolidation.

Looking over a longer period, CITIC’s cash dividend payout ratio in 2024 was 30.5%. In fact, CITIC significantly increased its cash dividend payout ratio in 2024. From 2021 to 2023, the ratio was approximately 28%.

Meanwhile, CITIC’s fundamentals also show a clear upward trend. In 2025, CITIC’s total assets surpassed 10 trillion yuan for the first time, reaching 10,131.028 billion yuan, a 6.28% increase from the previous year’s end. Operating income was 212.475 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.55%, but net profit attributable to shareholders rose 2.98% to 70.618 billion yuan.

Even more attention is given to CITIC’s quarterly data. Huachuang Securities analyst Lin Wanhui noted that CITIC Bank’s quarterly revenue grew 8.6% year-over-year, with the quarter-on-quarter growth rate improving by 13.1 percentage points. This was mainly due to continued strength in core revenue generation. Additionally, the year-over-year growth rate of net interest income in the quarter turned positive to 0.16%, and other non-interest income grew over 50%. For the full year 2025, CITIC Bank’s net interest income was 144.469 billion yuan, down 1.51% from the previous year, while non-interest net income was 68.006 billion yuan, up 1.55%.

Lin Wanhui stated that CITIC Bank’s improving fundamentals and higher dividend payout ratio will attract additional long-term capital, boosting its PB valuation.

Long-term funds favor shareholding banks

In the 2025 annual reports of Ping An Bank and CITIC Bank, it is also evident that long-term funds such as insurance companies have appeared multiple times among the top ten shareholders.

In Ping An Bank’s top ten shareholders, the “Ping An group” holds three seats—Ping An Insurance, Ping An Life Insurance’s own funds, and Ping An Life Insurance’s traditional ordinary insurance. Additionally, four seats are held by CSI 300 index funds, including China Industrial and Commercial Bank Huatai-Pinebridge CSI 300 ETF, China Construction Bank E Fund CSI 300 ETF (initiated securities investment fund), China Industrial and Commercial Bank Harvest CSI 300 ETF, and Bank of China Jiasu CSI 300 ETF. These are the sixth, seventh, eighth, and tenth largest shareholders, with shareholding proportions of 0.83%, 0.59%, 0.45%, and 0.39%, respectively.

Among CITIC’s top ten shareholders, the fifth, ninth, and tenth positions are all long-term funds. They include China Life Insurance’s traditional insurance products, dividend personal dividends, and China Construction Bank Yinhe Fu Yu Thematic Mixed Securities Investment Fund, with shareholding proportions of 1.63%, 0.2%, and 0.16%, respectively; most of these shares were added in 2025.

Chongqing Bank:

Scale, growth, and growth rate all hit record highs

On March 25, Chongqing Bank released its financial report. The report describes a “highly prosperous” environment, with several indicators achieving around 20% growth.

As of 2025, Chongqing Bank’s total assets were 1,033.726 billion yuan, up 20.67% from the previous year’s end. Its total loans were 531.285 billion yuan, up 20.58%, and deposits reached 565.704 billion yuan, up 19.32%. Notably, corporate loans increased by 96.864 billion yuan from the start of the year, a 30.95% rise, both scale and growth rates reaching historic highs.

Meanwhile, operating income and net profit also grew in double digits. In 2025, Chongqing Bank’s operating income was 15.113 billion yuan, up 10.48% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 5.654 billion yuan, up 10.49%.

The largest contribution to revenue and profit growth came from net interest income. In 2025, net interest income was 12.459 billion yuan, an increase of 22.44%.

The bank’s average balance of interest-earning assets in 2025 was 894.996 billion yuan, up 18.39%. Its average yield on interest-earning assets decreased by 27 basis points to 3.53%. Meanwhile, the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities was 877.056 billion yuan, up 22.02%, with the average cost rate decreasing by 40 basis points to 2.18%. As a result, Chongqing Bank’s net interest margin increased by 4 basis points to 1.39%.

The bank’s asset quality showed “three declines and one rise”: as of the end of 2025, non-performing loan ratio was 1.14%, down 0.11 percentage points; special mention loans accounted for 1.94%, down 0.70 percentage points; overdue loans were 1.36%, down 0.37 percentage points; and the loan loss reserve coverage ratio was 245.58%, up 0.50 percentage points.

Alongside the earnings report, Chongqing Bank announced its 2025 year-end dividend plan, proposing a cash dividend of 2.918 yuan per 10 shares (including tax), totaling 1.014 billion yuan. The total cash dividends for 2025 (including the third quarter pre-distribution) will be 1.599 billion yuan, with a payout ratio of 30%. Huatai Securities analyst Shen Juan estimated that the dividend yield for Chongqing Bank’s A-shares is 4.21% (as of March 24).

Another Sichuan-Chongqing region bank, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, also released its 2025 report on March 26. In 2025, its assets reached 1,665.7 billion yuan; deposits were 1,028.7 billion yuan; loans were 797.3 billion yuan, with growth rates of 9.95%, 9.21%, and 11.62%, respectively. The bank achieved operating income of 28.65 billion yuan and net profit of 12.42 billion yuan, up 1.37% and 5.35% respectively. Like Chongqing Bank, its net interest income also increased. In 2025, it was 24.261 billion yuan, up 7.85%.

The dividend plan shows that in 2025, the bank paid an interim cash dividend of 2.0336 yuan per 10 shares (including tax), totaling 2.31 billion yuan. It also plans to pay a year-end cash dividend of 1.1755 yuan per 10 shares, totaling 1.335 billion yuan. The total cash dividends for the year will be 3.2091 yuan per 10 shares, totaling 3.645 billion yuan, accounting for 30.05% of net profit attributable to shareholders.

Non-interest net income remains the largest drag on performance

Ping An Bank’s 2025 report shows non-interest net income of 43.421 billion yuan, down 18.5%. Fee and commission income was 23.894 billion yuan, down 0.9%; other non-interest income fell 33%. Ma Kunpeng noted that revenue and profit pressures mainly stemmed from the drag of other non-interest income.

Similarly, Chongqing Bank’s non-interest income was 2.654 billion yuan, down 24.24%. Fee and commission income was 598 million yuan, down 32.66%; fair value changes and investment income totaled 1.928 billion yuan, down 21.95%.

Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank’s non-interest income was 4.387 billion yuan, down 23.92%. Fee and commission income declined 19.17% to 1.294 billion yuan; other non-interest income fell 25.55% to 3.093 billion yuan.

Among the four banks, CITIC Bank’s non-interest income performed the best. In 2025, CITIC achieved 68.006 billion yuan, up 1.55%. Fee and commission income was 32.772 billion yuan, up 5.58%. Other non-interest income, including investment income, was 35.234 billion yuan, down 1.93%.

(This article was published in the March 28 issue of Securities Market Weekly. The stocks mentioned are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute investment advice.)