Bank of Communications 2025 Annual "Report Card": Strengthening Shanghai's "Home Court" Advantage, Digital Transformation Achievements Shine

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On March 27, the Bank of Communications released its 2025 annual performance report, with key operating indicators continuing a stable and improving trend, delivering a “double increase” in both quantity and quality.

By the end of 2025, the group’s total assets exceeded 15.5 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.35% compared to the end of the previous year. In terms of profitability, in 2025, the group achieved operating income of 155k yuan and net profit attributable to parent company shareholders of 265.07B yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 2.02% and 2.18%, respectively.

As the only state-owned large commercial bank headquartered in Shanghai, the Bank of Communications effectively plays the role of a financial main force and ballast stone, with Shanghai’s “home court” construction and digital transformation as two strategic breakthroughs, creating a unique development path and continuously strengthening the solid foundation for high-quality development.

Credit tilted toward key areas, asset quality continues to stabilize and improve

The annual report shows that by the end of 2025, the bank’s customer loan balance was 9.12 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.64%.

Overall, in 2025, the bank’s corporate loans showed a good trend of “total increase and optimized structure,” with RMB corporate loans reaching 505.5 billion yuan, an increase of 10.1%. Currently, the bank’s project reserves for Q1 and Q2 of 2026 remain generally stable, and subsequent credit issuance will be promoted in an orderly manner.

Regarding corporate loan allocation, the bank remains committed to serving the real economy, fully supporting new productive forces, focusing on key areas such as the “Five Major Articles” of finance, and making targeted efforts, aiming to develop technology finance into a distinctive advantage of the bank’s corporate business. At the same time, it focuses on supporting manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, agriculture-related sectors, and other key areas aligned with economic development directions and policy guidance.

Specifically, leveraging its full license operation advantage, the bank has built an integrated service system of “equity, bonds, loans, leasing, and trust,” providing diversified financial support throughout the lifecycle of tech companies. The bank has innovatively launched the “Tech Innovation Easy Loan” product line, and formed dedicated research teams for emerging tech industries, creating a “tailored policy” service model. By the end of 2025, the bank’s technology loan balance exceeded 1.58 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.73% from the previous year; loans to “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” SMEs and tech SMEs grew by 21.02% and 36.29%, respectively.

In terms of regional layout, the bank promotes the implementation of major national regional development strategies through efficient financial supply. By the end of 2025, loans in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area regions increased by 6.59% compared to the previous year, accounting for about 54%.

Retail loans also show a positive trend recently. Since March, the bank’s mortgage application volume has significantly increased, and signs of stabilization in the real estate market have appeared. If this trend continues, it will help achieve the expected growth target for retail loans.

It is understood that the bank’s loan issuance target for this year is to increase loans by no less than last year. The issuance pace will balance moderate early efforts with sustainable, balanced growth, with about 40% of the total planned for Q1 and over 60% for the first half of the year.

Notably, while steadily expanding credit scale, the bank is also working to improve risk management precision, promoting asset quality stabilization and improvement, with risk indicators continuously optimized. By the end of 2025, the non-performing loan ratio was 1.28%, down 0.03 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

Shanghai “home court” visibility increases, fully leveraging innovation source functions

As the only state-owned large commercial bank headquartered in Shanghai, the bank consolidates group efforts to build Shanghai’s “home court” advantage, using financial strength to promote the construction of Shanghai’s “Five Centers,” supporting high-quality economic and social development in Shanghai.

In 2025, the bank adhered to the “one matter” thinking and digital methods to reshape service models and business processes, further enhancing Shanghai’s “home court” visibility and contribution, and strengthening its innovation source functions.

Specifically, focusing on building Shanghai as a science and technology innovation center, the bank aims to improve the level of tech financial services, increasing support for hard-tech enterprises and major sci-tech innovation projects, launching three major industrial action plans for Shanghai’s leading industries, providing over 40 billion yuan in loans to integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence, covering the entire industry chain in fields like integrated circuits.

Meanwhile, the bank deeply integrates into Shanghai’s financial market development, consolidating and expanding its leading position in financial market business. In 2025, it achieved transactions of 1.65 trillion yuan in “Bond Connect” and “Swap Connect,” and maintained a leading position in interbank market clearing and settlement volume, as well as securities and futures market settlement volume.

In supporting Shanghai’s high-level opening-up, the bank implemented digital construction requirements for shipping and trade, launching platforms like “Bank of Communications Shipping Trade Pass” and “Foreign Trade Fast Loan,” with blockchain-based trade credit re-lending exceeding 3 billion yuan.

At the same time, the bank actively practices the concept of a people-oriented city, serving modern urban construction, establishing cooperation with 76 municipal-level and 256 district-level major projects.

It is reported that in 2025, the bank’s RMB general loans in Shanghai increased by over 16%, ranking among the top in the market, with market share continuously rising. The investment in subsidiaries in Shanghai also hit a record high.

The management of the bank stated that it will continue to maintain strategic focus on Shanghai’s “home court” construction, further increasing resource tilt toward Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region, maintaining high growth in deposits and loans in the area, and steadily improving profitability and profit contribution.

Digital transformation shows results, driving upgrades in financial service efficiency

In recent years, AI technology applications in banking have continued to deepen, becoming an important force in promoting digital transformation in the banking industry. The bank attaches great importance to the development and application of AI, making it a core direction of its digital new construction.

In 2025, the proportion of fintech investment in total revenue exceeded 5%, and the proportion of fintech personnel increased. The bank’s intelligent computing scale grew by over 50% compared to the previous year, further improving AI governance frameworks and continuously promoting AI application scenarios.

It is understood that over 20k employees use intelligent agents to improve work efficiency and quality. Especially, by reconstructing business processes with AI thinking, the bank has made breakthroughs in account opening, credit granting, approval, authorization, and international settlement. By applying AI capabilities, the volume of on-site authorized transactions decreased by over 60% year-on-year, international settlement efficiency increased by more than 20%, and multi-stage credit processes are now supported and automated, initially forming a new model of human-machine collaboration.

At the performance briefing, the bank’s management stated that they will firmly focus on AI implementation as a key work during the “14th Five-Year Plan,” increasing resource investment and focusing on four main directions:

1. Strengthen technological capability building. Fully apply AI in technology, covering demand analysis, product development, system testing, production operations, and cybersecurity, supporting high-quality development of the bank.

2. Deepen service business and employee support. Reengineer processes such as fund settlement, credit approval, procurement, resource allocation, and digital office with AI, exploring digital committees and experts, and strengthening digital decision-making support.

3. Upgrade service market and customer experience. Promote AI from isolated applications to comprehensive integration, enhancing product and service levels, and creating a simple, convenient customer experience.

4. Improve intelligent risk prevention and control. Accelerate AI’s application in comprehensive risk management, enabling early risk identification, early warning, early exposure, and early handling, enhancing foresight and accuracy in risk detection, and continuously improving post-loan management.

Through this “double increase” in quantity and quality, the bank demonstrates the resilience and innovative vitality of a large state-owned bank. In the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” the bank will continue to lead high-quality development through Shanghai’s “home court” construction and digital transformation innovations, with more stable operations, better services, and more innovative approaches, supporting national strategies, empowering industrial upgrades, and injecting stronger financial momentum into high-quality economic and social development.

(This article does not constitute any investment advice; information disclosure is based on company announcements. Investors operate at their own risk.)