Focus on the AI industry chain and other areas! Analyzing the technology finance of the six major state-owned banks

The centralized release of the 2025 annual reports by listed banks has wrapped up.

A reporter with Securities Times China found that China’s six largest state-owned commercial banks have continued to strengthen their position as a main force in technology finance. As of the end of 2025, the combined balance of technology loans at the six state-owned banks had already surpassed 23.3 trillion yuan, with year-over-year growth rates generally staying at high levels of more than 15%.

Worth noting is that while these balances have continued to expand in scale, state-owned banks are also shifting from simply providing credit supply to transforming into a comprehensive service system of “equity, loans, bonds, and leases” (“股贷债保租”). In particular, breakthroughs in digital risk-control systems—such as the transformation of credit logic from “looking back” to “looking ahead”—and coordinated efforts involving pilot equity investments by asset management/investment companies (AIC) and technology enterprise M&A loans, signal that commercial banks’ technology finance services have entered a new stage supported by “technology-led” evaluation and centered on an all-life-cycle linkage of investment, lending, and financing.

AI industry chain and strategic emerging industries as key areas of focus

The six state-owned banks with advantages in total asset size have kept their absolute leading position in the market for technology loan balances, and their growth rates are also notably strong.

At an earnings release meeting, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) disclosed that at the end of 2025, its technology loan balance was the first to surpass 6 trillion yuan, up nearly 1 trillion yuan from the beginning of the year. The year-over-year growth rate reached 19.9%, and the allocation of its technology loan balances remained number one among peers. Among this, the balance of loans to strategic emerging industries surpassed 4 trillion yuan.

By the end of 2025, China Construction Bank (CCB) had technology loan balances of 5.25 trillion yuan, up 233k yuan from the previous year, a rise of 18.91%. Of this, the balance of loans to strategic emerging industries was 3.52 trillion yuan, up 23.46%. CCB vice president Lei Ming also disclosed that throughout the year the bank served nearly 320k enterprises, and both the number of customers served and the loan balances were among the leading positions in the market.

According to disclosures, CCB focused on emerging and future industries including semiconductors, high-end equipment manufacturing, the next-generation information technology sector, industrial gases, and new energy. It also paid attention to five areas: cultivating technology talent, promoting technological innovation, transforming scientific research outcomes, and developing technology-intensive industries.

As of the end of 2025, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) had technology loan balances of 4.7 trillion yuan, up 20.1% from the end of the previous year. It connected with and served more than 350k technology-based enterprises, with both the coverage and the growth rate of incremental lending staying among the top ranks among peers. In terms of sectors served, on the one hand ABC focuses on a modernized industrial system and new-quality productive forces industries; on the other hand, it highlights agricultural technology characteristics, serving initiatives such as seed industry revitalization, agricultural industrial parks, and agricultural machinery equipment. It also launched products such as “Agricultural Park Tech-Enterprise Loans” (“农业园区科企贷”) and “Agricultural Machinery Loans” (“农机贷”) to support leading agricultural technology enterprises.

As of the end of 2025, Bank of China (BOC) had technology loan balances exceeding 4.82 trillion yuan, up 18.78% year over year. At an earnings release meeting, BOC president Zhang Hui disclosed that the bank’s technology loans accounted for more than one-third of its corporate loans, ranking first among comparable peers; the total number of lending clients exceeded 170k, and both its coverage rate of loans to technology-based enterprises and the increase in customers were leading in the market.

What’s also worth noting is that BOC was the first to publish an action plan to support the development of the artificial intelligence industry chain. It has established cooperation with nearly 4,500 core enterprises in the AI industry chain, with credit balance of 545.6 billion yuan, and plans to provide no less than 1 trillion yuan of dedicated comprehensive financial support to that industry chain over the next five years.

As of the end of 2025, Bank of Communications (BoCom) had technology loan balances of 1.58 trillion yuan, up 10.73% from the end of the previous year. Its loans to “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” SMEs and its loans to technology-based SMEs increased by 21.02% and 36.29%, respectively, from the end of the previous year.

Based on its Shanghai hub, BoCom focuses on supporting three leading industries: integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence. It rolled out an action plan for Shanghai’s three leading industries (integrated circuits) to support multiple key integrated circuit projects.

As of the end of 2025, Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) had technology loan balances exceeding 950 billion yuan, up more than 13% from the end of the previous year. It served more than 100k technology-based enterprises, and loans to technology-based SMEs accounted for a high proportion of its technology loans among state-owned banks. The bank also successfully issued its first batch of 5 billion yuan technology innovation bonds, including a 3-year floating-rate product that was the first in the entire market.

Overall, through ongoing credit deployment, the six major banks have continued to increase their support for technological innovation. Their combined loan balances grew by more than 3.6 trillion yuan compared with the end of 2024, making them core financial forces for serving the real economy and fostering new-quality productive forces. While maintaining growth in total volumes, each bank has also stepped up targeted “drip-feeding” support for strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and new energy, and their differentiated industrial layout characteristics have become increasingly apparent.

Banks are building “technology-led” evaluation systems

Beyond scale expansion, state-owned banks have significantly improved their precision and professional level in serving technology-based enterprises. Most have established full life-cycle service systems covering the stages from enterprise start-up to growth, maturity, and even going public. They also address the financing difficulties of “light assets and no collateral” through the establishment of specialized institutions and digital risk-control tools.

Notably, in terms of organizational structure, state-owned banks generally establish multi-level technology finance service systems consisting of “head office—branches—sub-branches—specialized outlets.”

ICBC has improved its “five-specialties” service mechanism covering specialized institutions, special campaigns, dedicated products, specialized risk control, and dedicated support. It has set up 25 branch technology finance centers and 160 technology sub-branches. ABC has set up 25 technology finance service centers and more than 300 technology-specialized sub-branches. BOC has set up technology finance centers and 275 technology finance outlets in 24 pilot provinces and municipalities where innovation resources are concentrated, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. BoCom’s technology sub-branches and technology characteristic sub-branches together exceed 100 outlets; 35 branches have set up dedicated promotion institutions for technology finance. PSBC has established technology finance departments at the first-tier level in six first-tier branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shenzhen, and it has built more than 100 technology-finance characteristic sub-branches and characteristic outlets.

In service models, these major banks have rolled out dedicated credit products and evaluation models to break the constraints of the traditional “three statements.” CCB has built a “technology-led” science and technology innovation evaluation system, introducing intellectual property, technological capability, and entrepreneur information as the fourth “statement”—the science and technology innovation statement—to help enterprises make their intellectual property “credit-enabled” and “digitized.” PSBC has promoted and applied a “technology-led” evaluation system; the credit limit for “technology-led” rated customers exceeds 60k yuan, and it is pushing the construction of the “Science and Technology Cloud Map” (科创云图) for an all-around evaluation platform for technology-based enterprises. BoCom independently developed a “1+N” evaluation model for technology-based enterprises, scoring an enterprise’s technology innovation capability across five dimensions: human capital, research and development capability, social recognition, operating performance, and industry status.

Bank of China has innovated and developed the “BOC Kechuang Kuateng System.” It uses digital technology to integrate multiple factors such as enterprise innovation capability, operating conditions, and risk assessment, forming a multidimensional evaluation system for technology-based enterprises. It has already served more than 10k enterprises and is advancing technology finance services from “experience-driven” to “intelligence-driven.” For the characteristics of certain emerging and frontier fields with strong professional requirements, the bank has also launched the construction of an external expert pool for technology finance, and introduced a “cloud review” mode to empower efficient credit approval.

To meet full life-cycle needs of technology enterprises, each bank has launched differentiated product matrices. ICBC has introduced characteristic scenario products such as “R&D Loans,” “Innovation Points Loans,” and “Special Loans for Disruptive Technology Innovation.” CCB has launched products for enterprises at the start-up stage, including “Shanxin Loans” (“善新贷”) and “Shanke Loans” (“善科贷”) (with a balance exceeding 160 billion yuan and growth of more than 50%), and for growth-stage enterprises it provides “Keji Loans” (“科技易贷”) and “Technology R&D Loans,” and for mature-stage enterprises it offers M&A loans and underwriting of technology bonds.

Meanwhile, ABC has built an all-life-cycle service plan called “ABC Chuangda” (“农银创达”), innovating products such as “KeJie Loans” (“科捷贷”) and “Innovation Points Loans” (“创新积分贷”), and more. BoCom has built a product line of “KeChuang Easy Loans” (“科创易贷”): at the start-up stage it offers “KeChuang Talent Loans” (“科创人才贷”); at the growth stage it offers “KeChuang Scenario Loans” (“科创场景贷”); and at the mature stage it provides “KeChuang Express Loans” (“科创快贷”).

AIC equity investment and M&A loans move in tandem

The 2025 annual reports highlight another major trend: state-owned banks with AIC licenses are accelerating the buildout of a financing support system that links equity and debt through multiple dimensions. By leveraging policy opportunities such as expansion of AIC equity investment pilot programs, underwriting of sci-tech bonds, and pilots of M&A loans for technology enterprises, they are creating a new paradigm of “investment-lending linkage.”

As of the end of 2025, ICBC, through ICBC Investment, has established 48 AIC equity investment pilot funds, with an subscribed scale of 108.4 billion yuan, ranking first among peers, and achieving full coverage of cooperation for first-batch pilot city funds. CCB has cumulatively established 28 AIC equity investment pilot funds and has reached cooperation intentions with all 18 pilot cities; the group’s outstanding equity investment scale in technology-based enterprises exceeds 90 billion yuan.

For ABC, it has cumulatively established 27 pilot funds, investing in 31 science-and-technology projects, and it has signed cooperation agreements with all AIC equity investment pilot cities. It also participated in establishing the first and largest Zhejiang Social Security Science and Technology Fund with a scale of 50 billion yuan, initiated by the Social Security Fund and state-owned banks. BOC’s subsidiary BOC Assets has established 28 AIC equity investment funds with a subscribed scale of 23.43 billion yuan. BOC Securities has established 10 science-and-technology mother funds with a subscribed scale of 16.68 billion yuan. The total subscribed scale exceeds 40 billion yuan, and key landmark projects have already been deployed in commercial space technology, biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and integrated circuits.

It is also worth noting that PSBC’s AIC subsidiary, PSBC Investment, received approval to open in March 2026, marking that the final missing piece in the comprehensive AIC layout by the six state-owned banks is about to be completed. The bank plans to position it as an innovation platform for the investment-lending linkage, a platform for long-term capital supporting technology innovation, a platform for structural reform debt-to-equity swaps, and an equity investment management platform.

For bond underwriting, in 2025 CCB underwrote 10k yuan of science-and-technology innovation bonds, up 282.43%; ABC underwrote 220.6 billion yuan worth of science-and-technology innovation bond issuance throughout the year; and BOC’s underwriting scale for technology innovation bonds ranked among the top among peers.

Even more noteworthy is that the pilot policy for M&A loans for technology enterprises was fully rolled out in 2025. CCB has treated M&A business as an important lever for technology finance. By the end of 2025, technology-sector M&A loans increased by 40k yuan year over year. Among the total incremental additions to M&A loans, their share was close to seven-tenths. It has set an image as a leading bank in technology M&A, with a cumulative deployment of 44 pilot-policy projects and disbursement of 52.5k yuan.

For M&A loan deployment, PSBC has also successfully delivered nearly 3.7 billion yuan of M&A loans for technology enterprises. In addition, BOC provides integrated investment banking services through “M&A loans + M&A advisory + equity investment,” offering financing support to more than 190 billion yuan in M&A transactions. ABC has cumulatively deployed more than 25 billion yuan of M&A loans for technology-based enterprises.

Based on annual report data, technology finance business at state-owned banks has formed a diversified pattern of “stable fundamentals in credit, accelerating investment-lending linkages, expanded bond underwriting, and breakthroughs in M&A services.” As the AIC teams expand to full coverage across the six state-owned banks, and as pilots of M&A loans for technology enterprises deepen, commercial banks’ “patient capital” supply capacity has been significantly strengthened, providing more solid financial support for deep integration of technology innovation and industrial innovation.

Layout: Wang Yunpeng

Proofread by: Zhu Tianting