Overview of Asset Quality of 22 A-Share Listed Banks: Corporate Loans Generally Improving, Several Banks Experience Rising Non-Performing Personal Mortgage Rates

Daily Economic News reporter | Zhao Jingzhi    Daily Economic News editor | Huang Sheng

As of March 31, among 42 listed banks in the A-share market, 22 have already released their 2025 “performance reports,” and the six state-owned major banks have all made their appearances.

Judging from their annual reports, asset quality at listed banks has shown a steady-to-improving trend. For most banks, the ratio of non-performing loans is basically unchanged or improved compared with last year. Four banks saw a slight increase, resulting in an overall pattern of improvement.

However, regarding structural changes, the reporter noted that some listed banks’ non-performing rates in real estate within their corporate loans have risen. In addition, the overall non-performing loan ratio for banks’ retail loans is still increasing, and multiple banks’ non-performing rates for individual mortgage loans have also risen.

Overall, asset quality at listed banks is improving

Asset quality is the “lifeline” of commercial banks. Strong, high-quality asset performance means banks can collect principal and interest on schedule, with greater ability to withstand risks—thereby ensuring sound and sustainable operations.

Based on the annual reports already disclosed, the asset quality of the 22 listed banks overall shows an improving trend, aligning with the overall data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration. In 2025, non-performing loan ratios for banks of all types improved—especially for rural commercial banks, whose non-performing ratio in the fourth quarter fell by 0.14 percentage points from the first quarter to 2.72%.

As the industry’s stabilizer, the six state-owned major banks have performed particularly well. Except for Postal Savings Bank, the overall non-performing loan ratios of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications all declined year over year, with the decline concentrated between 0.02 and 0.03 percentage points. Specifically, ICBC and CCB both had non-performing ratios of 1.31%; BOCOM had 1.28%, ABC had 1.27%, and BOC had 1.23%, all staying at relatively low levels.

For joint-stock banks, as of now, annual reports have been disclosed by nine banks: China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, Industrial Bank, CITIC Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Everbright Bank, Zhejiang Commercial Bank, Minsheng Bank, and Huaxia Bank. Among them, Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank, and Everbright Bank saw slight upticks of 0.02 percentage points, 0.01 percentage points, and 0.02 percentage points to 1.49%, 1.08%, and 1.27%, respectively. The other six banks saw their non-performing ratios decline versus the end of last year.

Among regional banks, currently 7 banks have disclosed their non-performing ratios: Zhengzhou Bank, Chongqing Bank, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, RuiFeng Bank, Qingdao Bank, Zhangjiagang Bank, and Wuxi Bank. Among them, RuiFeng Bank saw a slight increase of 0.02 percentage points to 0.99%, while the non-performing ratios of all the others were unchanged from last year or declined.

Corporate non-performing ratio declines, but real estate loan non-performing ratio remains relatively high

According to an analysis by Ni Jun, a researcher at GF Securities, among the 22 listed banks that have released their annual reports, last year their corporate non-performing loan ratio decreased by 0.14 percentage points from the end of the prior year to 1.07%. In particular, non-performing ratios declined significantly in broad infrastructure, wholesale and retail industries, and manufacturing. By industry, in 2025, the non-performing ratio for corporate real estate loans at commercial banks remained high; the next was wholesale and retail, followed by construction and manufacturing. In addition, under the backdrop of de-leveraging and debt reduction, loan quality in the infrastructure sector has generally been strong, and the non-performing ratio continued to trend lower.

For corporate real estate loans, different banks vary significantly in their performance in this area, showing a “polarization” trend.

Taking Zhengzhou Bank as an example: in 2024, the non-performing loan ratio for real estate at the bank was 9.55%, while in 2025 it was 5.11%, a decline of 4.44 percentage points. In addition, the non-performing loan amount for real estate at the bank also fell from 2.12B yuan in 2024 to 941M yuan in 2025, a reduction of more than 50%. The total amount of non-performing real estate loans at Minsheng Bank also dropped sharply from 16.69B yuan to 11.74B yuan, driving the non-performing loan ratio for real estate from 5.01% down to 3.61%.

However, some banks face pressure from rising non-performing ratios in the real estate sector. For example, Chongqing Bank and ICBC both achieved declines in their real estate non-performing loan ratios in 2024, falling to 5.63% and 4.99%, respectively, but in 2025 they rose by 2.12 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points to 7.75% and 5.39%, respectively.

For personal housing loans, according to Wind data, the non-performing ratios of several banks for which relevant information has been disclosed have increased. Only Minsheng Bank’s non-performing loan ratio declined, while Industrial Bank’s remained flat compared with the previous year.

Among them, Zhengzhou Bank rose from 1.04% to 1.28%; ICBC rose from 0.73% to 1.06%; Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% to 1.01%; Agricultural Bank of China rose from 0.73% to 0.92%; CCB rose from 0.63% to 0.89%; Postal Savings Bank rose from 0.64% to 0.69%; China Merchants Bank rose from 0.48% to 0.51%.

The reporter noted that Wang Jingwu, vice president of ICBC, said at this year’s performance conference that the bank’s asset quality for personal loans has long remained excellent. Over the past two years, due to factors such as economic transformation, adjustments in the real estate market, and temporary imbalances in supply and demand, the non-performing ratio has risen in the short term, which is consistent with the overall industry trend.

Personal mortgage non-performing ratio generally rises

Compared with corporate lending, the pressure is more widespread in the retail lending segment—multiple banks’ retail non-performing loan ratios have continued to rise, and personal housing loans have become one of the main areas under pressure.

According to Wind data, among the banks that have disclosed relevant information, only Minsheng Bank’s non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans declined, Industrial Bank was flat year over year, and all others saw increases to varying degrees.

Specifically, Zhengzhou Bank’s non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans rose from 1.04% to 1.28%; ICBC rose from 0.73% to 1.06%; Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% to 1.01%; and Agricultural Bank of China, CCB, Postal Savings Bank, and China Merchants Bank also all saw small increases. Among them, at the performance conference, ICBC’s vice president Wang Jingwu explained that the bank’s asset quality for personal loans has long been excellent, and over the past two years due to factors such as economic transformation and real estate market adjustments, the non-performing ratio rose in the short term, consistent with the overall industry trend.

Beyond personal mortgage loans, the risk level across the entire retail loan segment is rising. Ni Jun pointed out that in 2025, the retail non-performing ratio rose by 0.24 percentage points from the start of the year to 1.71%. Among them, the non-performing ratios for credit cards, consumer loans, and mortgage loans increased by 0.12 percentage points, 0.10 percentage points, and 0.07 percentage points, respectively—different business lines are facing a certain degree of risk pressure.

As a representative of retail banks, China Merchants Bank’s performance is quite representative. Its non-performing ratio for small and micro loans rose sharply from 0.79% to 1.22%; its non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans rose slightly from 0.48% to 0.51%; and only the non-performing ratio for consumer loans declined slightly. The bank’s Chief Risk Officer, Xu Mingjie, acknowledged that this year, risk across the entire retail credit market is still in an upward phase, and credit card asset quality also faces some pressure. China Merchants Bank will also take proactive measures to control risk in retail credit and ensure that the quality of retail credit remains basically controllable.

Cover image source: AIGC