China Merchants Bank establishes a new Technology Finance Department, retail AUM surpasses 17 trillion yuan

On the evening of March 27, China Merchants Bank released its 2025 annual report on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

A reporter from 21st Century Business Herald noted that the bank’s 2025 annual report contains multiple new strategic formulations, such as “retail starts anew and corporate surpasses again,” and “strengthen subsidiaries,” among others. At the same time, the bank newly established the Technology Finance Department as a first-level department at the head office last year.

This article was first published in 21 Financial Circle. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Author | Huang Zixiao

Editor | Sun Chaoyi Xiao Jiayi

Layout | Zhang Shuyu

On the evening of March 27, China Merchants Bank released its 2025 annual report on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Earlier, in January, the bank had already released its earnings press release; the annual report figures were basically consistent with it.

During the reporting period, China Merchants Bank achieved operating income of RMB 337.532 billion, up 0.01% year over year, and net profit of RMB 150.181 billion, up 1.21% year over year; ROAA and ROAE were 1.19% and 13.44%, respectively, down 0.09 and 1.05 percentage points year over year.

Compared with the end of last year, the bank’s total assets were RMB 1.307 trillion, up 7.56%; its non-performing loan ratio was 0.94%, down 0.01 percentage points; and its net interest margin was 1.87%, down 0.11 percentage points.

A reporter from 21st Century Business Herald noted that the bank’s 2025 annual report contains multiple new strategic formulations, such as “retail starts anew and corporate surpasses again,” and “strengthen subsidiaries,” among others. At the same time, the bank newly established the Technology Finance Department as a first-level department at the head office last year.

At the close on March 27, China Merchants Bank’s A shares ended at RMB 39.44, a marginal decline of 0.3%; its H shares ended at HKD 48.96, a marginal decline of 0.12%.

Newly established Technology Finance Department and the Melbourne branch

In his speech, China Merchants Bank President Wang Liang said that it will continue to optimize its organizational lineup, establish the head-office Technology Finance Department, and deepen reforms of branch operating and management systems.

The financial report shows that in 2025, China Merchants Bank established the head-office Technology Finance Department and continued to deepen the “six specialties” (“six-specialty” mechanism), featuring dedicated policies, dedicated products, dedicated processes, dedicated institutions, dedicated teams, and dedicated assessment and evaluation.

The bank’s technology finance structure is called “1+20+100,” including 1 Technology Finance Committee, 20 technology finance key branches, and 100 technology finance specialized sub-branches.

Data show that as of the end of 2025, the bank served 350.1 thousand technology-related corporate customers, among which technology-list companies were 208.5 thousand. Technology loan balances were RMB 103.6854 billion, up 8.06% from the beginning of the year. The bank also issued RMB 5.0 billion Greater Bay Area-themed technology innovation bonds, with proceeds earmarked specifically to support technology innovation.

As part of its technology finance deployment, AIC China Merchants Investment, the bank’s AIC, commenced operations in December last year. It has a registered capital of RMB 15.0 billion, completing the bank’s key licenses. It will feature four major business models, such as “debt-to-equity conversion,” among others.

At the branch level, it will deepen reforms of branch operating and management systems. Combining trends in the development of industrial clusters, the bank will implement differentiated regional operating strategies and accelerate the development of key regional branches in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing, and the Haixi region, among others.

At the end of the reporting period, the main indicators of customer base, total assets under management for retail customers (AUM), core deposits, and corporate loans, among other key indicators, for branches in key regions all had year-end growth rates higher than the average for domestic branches. The 16 key regional branches’ retail AUM ratio was up 0.79 percentage points versus the end of last year; the core deposits ratio was up 0.38 percentage points year over year as of the 13th; and the corporate loan balance ratio was up 0.12 percentage points versus the end of last year.

In addition, in 2025, the bank added a secondary branch, the Melbourne branch, in the Sydney branch. During the reporting period, the Sydney branch achieved operating income of AUD 67.8167 million.

Source: China Merchants Bank 2025 Annual Report

“Retail starts anew”

In his speech, China Merchants Bank Chairman Miao Jianmin said that, around “retail starts anew and corporate surpasses again,” it will enhance its competitiveness in wealth management, unblock a value-circulation chain of “wealth management, asset allocation, featured asset management, and asset custody,” strengthen the creation of diversified products and the selection of high-quality products across the entire market, and build a wealth management ecosystem with long-term competitiveness.

Data show that as of last year-end, the number of the bank’s retail customers reached 220 million households. The contribution share of retail financial businesses to revenue and profit has remained at over 50%. Total assets under management (AUM) for retail customers exceeded RMB 17 trillion, with more than RMB 2 trillion in net additions during the year, setting a record high. The “China Merchants Bank TREE Asset Allocation Service System” increased the number of retail customers by 13.31% compared with the end of last year.

Wang Liang said that it will adhere to the strategic leading position of retail finance and continue to promote balanced and coordinated development across four business segments: retail finance, corporate finance, investment banking and financial markets, and wealth management and asset management.

Specifically, the bank’s retail finance business profit before tax was RMB 90.676 billion, up 0.04% year over year; accounting for 50.66% of profit before tax, down 0.08 percentage points year over year. Operating income was RMB 191.017 billion, down 2.96% year over year; accounting for 56.59% of operating income. The cost-to-income ratio for retail finance business was 33.39%, up 0.87 percentage points year over year. The proportion of average balance of demand deposits for retail customers was 47.94%, down 0.38 percentage points year over year.

For retail loans, the bank will stick to an operating strategy of “stable operations with low volatility,” continue to optimize the structure of its customer base and asset structure, and develop credit card business in a prudent manner. As of the end of the reporting period, its retail loan balance was RMB 372.0191 billion, up 2.07% from the end of last year, and retail loans accounted for 51.26%. As of the end of the reporting period, the bank’s retail non-performing loan ratio was 1.06%, up 0.10 percentage points from the end of last year.

In terms of wealth management, in 2025 the bank achieved non-interest net income of RMB 121.939 billion, down 3.38% year over year. It accounted for 36.13% of operating income, down 1.27 percentage points year over year.

Of this, net fee and commission income was RMB 75.258 billion, up 4.39% year over year, accounting for 61.72% of non-interest net income; other net income was RMB 46.681 billion, down 13.74%. During the reporting period, the bank’s income from large wealth management was RMB 44.013 billion, up 16.91% year over year.

Specifically, fee and commission income from wealth management was RMB 26.711 billion, up 21.39% year over year. Of this, fee income from distribution of wealth management products was RMB 9.347 billion, up 18.98%; fee income from fund agency was RMB 5.846 billion, up 40.36%, mainly driven by an increase in the year-over-year scale and sales of equity-type funds. Fee income from insurance agency was RMB 5.823 billion, down 9.37%, mainly due to changes in business mix. Fee income from trust plan agency was RMB 3.518 billion, up 65.55%. Fee income from securities transaction agency was RMB 1.801 billion, up 62.55%, mainly driven by an increase in customers’ demand for securities trading in the Hong Kong capital market.

Fee and commission income from asset management was RMB 11.927 billion, up 10.94%, mainly due to growth in the scale of the asset management business of subsidiaries. Fee income from custody business was RMB 5.375 billion, up 9.90%; fee income from card business was RMB 13.643 billion, down 18.60%. Fee income from settlement and clearing was RMB 15.465 billion, down 0.26%, mainly affected by insufficient consumer demand and the decline in credit card income.

China Merchants Bank said it will look ahead to 2026 and continue to push non-interest net income to develop with high quality. By year-end, the total assets of China Merchants Bank Investment were RMB 15.047 billion, and net assets were RMB 15.014 billion.

Strengthen subsidiaries

In his speech, Miao Jianmin said that placing “strengthening subsidiaries” in a prominent position, optimizing mechanisms, increasing investment, and strengthening empowerment will enhance subsidiaries’ core capabilities such as asset organization, investment and research management, product creation, and customer service, and strive to improve subsidiaries’ business contribution.

The annual report shows that the bank’s major subsidiaries’ total assets reached RMB 952.839 billion, up 11.43% from the end of last year. The proportion of operating income during the reporting period was 12.26%, up 1.97 percentage points year over year.

Among the bank’s major subsidiaries, as of the end of the reporting period, China Merchants United Group’s total assets were HKD 52.6542 billion, and shareholders’ equity was HKD 5.4131 billion; during the reporting period, net profit attributable to shareholders was HKD 4.292 billion.

China Merchants Financial Leasing’s total assets were RMB 325.298 billion, and net assets were RMB 41.082 billion; during the reporting period, net profit was RMB 4.407 billion.

China Merchants International’s total assets were HKD 102.036 billion, and net assets were HKD 23.473 billion; during the reporting period, net profit was HKD 4.035 billion.

China Merchants Wealth Management’s total assets were RMB 26.738 billion, and net assets were RMB 25.668 billion; during the reporting period, net profit was RMB 2.726 billion.

China Merchants Fund’s total assets were RMB 15.402 billion, and net assets were RMB 11.155 billion; during the reporting period, net profit was RMB 1.438 billion.

China Merchants Sino Confidence Asset Management’s total assets were RMB 1.266 billion, and net assets were RMB 0.964 billion; during the reporting period, net profit was RMB 0.125 billion.

China Merchants Europe’s total assets were EUR 570 million, and net assets were EUR 91 million; during the reporting period, net profit was EUR 0.7634 million.

China Merchants Investment’s total assets were RMB 15.047 billion, and net assets were RMB 15.014 billion.

If looking from the asset management business perspective, the combined total scale of asset management businesses of China Merchants Wealth Management, China Merchants Fund, China Merchants Sino Confidence Asset Management, and China Merchants International was RMB 4.71 trillion, up 5.13% from the end of last year.

Of this, China Merchants Wealth Management’s balance of wealth management products was RMB 2.64 trillion, up 6.88% from the end of last year; China Merchants Fund’s asset management business scale was RMB 1.59 trillion, up 1.27%; China Merchants Sino Confidence Asset Management’s asset management business scale was RMB 318.426 billion, up 4.17%; and China Merchants International’s asset management business scale was RMB 164.241 billion, up 26.02%.

Build a smart bank

In its annual report, China Merchants Bank said that it will do a good job in digital and intelligent technologies, adhere to the principle that technology drives the bank, actively explore new models of “AI + finance,” uphold the “AI First” philosophy, deeply implement the “AI+” initiative, and build a smart bank.

During the reporting period, China Merchants Bank’s investment in information technology was RMB 12.901 billion, reaching 4.31% of the bank’s operating income. As of the end of the reporting period, the bank’s R&D personnel numbered 11,051, accounting for 9.09% of total employees. At the same time, the financial technology innovation project fund focuses on strategic orientation, AI development, and cutting-edge technology, and comprehensively advances the building of the Company’s digital intelligence capabilities. During the reporting period, 684 financial technology innovation projects were newly approved, and 545 projects were newly launched.

China Merchants Bank’s technology directly empowers its retail and wholesale businesses.

In retail, as of the end of the reporting period, the monthly active users (MAU) of China Merchants Bank’s App and the Palm Life App reached 129 million households. It upgrades the “Xiao Zhao” intelligent service, expanding from wealth-management scenarios to comprehensive services across the “deposit-loan-remittance” full-scenario service model.

In wholesale, as of the end of the reporting period, the monthly active customers of the bank’s wholesale online channels were 2.2085 million households, up 13.29%.

As of the end of the reporting period, the user coverage rates for corporate account managers, credit officers, and operations personnel using the intelligent agent “Xiao Zhu” were 80.13%, 80.32%, and 100%, respectively.

In addition, at 9:30 a.m. on March 30, China Merchants Bank will hold its 2025 annual results briefing session on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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