An overview of asset quality for 22 A-share listed banks: corporate loans are generally improving, while several banks are experiencing an increase in personal housing loan non-performing rates.

Ask AI · Why is there polarization in the non-performing rate of corporate real estate loans?

Meiri Reporter: Zhao Jingzhi Meiri Editor: Huang Sheng

As of March 31, among 42 listed banks in the A-share market, 22 have submitted their “report cards” for 2025, including all six major state-owned banks.

From the annual reports, the asset quality of listed banks shows a steady improvement trend, with most banks’ non-performing loan ratios remaining stable or improving compared to last year. Four banks experienced slight increases, presenting an overall positive pattern.

However, in terms of structural changes, some listed banks have seen an increase in the non-performing rate of real estate loans in their corporate lending. Additionally, the overall retail loan non-performing rate remains elevated, and many banks have seen an increase in personal housing loan non-performing rates.

Overall Asset Quality of Listed Banks Is Improving

Asset quality is the “lifeline” of commercial banks. High-quality assets mean that the bank’s assets can be recovered on time, with strong risk resistance, thereby ensuring stable operation and sustainable development.

From the disclosed annual reports, the overall asset quality of 22 listed banks shows an optimization trend, echoing the data released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission — by 2025, non-performing rates across various types of banks have improved, with rural commercial banks showing the most significant improvement, with their non-performing rate decreasing by 0.14 percentage points to 2.72% in the fourth quarter compared to the first quarter.

As the backbone of the banking industry, the six state-owned banks perform particularly well. Except for Postal Savings Bank, the other five — Industrial and Commercial Bank, Agricultural Bank, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications — all saw their overall non-performing loan ratios decrease year-on-year, with reductions concentrated between 0.02 and 0.03 percentage points. Specifically, ICBC and CCB both have non-performing rates of 1.31%, BOC 1.28%, ABC 1.27%, and BOCOM 1.23%, all maintaining relatively low levels.

The nine banks that have disclosed annual reports include China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, Industrial Bank, CITIC Bank, SPD Bank, China Everbright Bank, Zheshang Bank, Minsheng Bank, and Huaxia Bank. Among them, Minsheng, Industrial, and Everbright Banks saw their non-performing loan rates rise slightly by 0.02, 0.01, and 0.02 percentage points to 1.49%, 1.08%, and 1.27%, respectively. The other six banks experienced declines in their non-performing rates compared to the end of last year.

Among regional banks, seven have disclosed non-performing rates: Zhengzhou Bank, Chongqing Bank, Yunnan Rural Commercial Bank, Ruifeng Bank, Qingdao Bank, Zhangjiagang Bank, and Wuxi Bank. Ruifeng Bank’s non-performing rate increased slightly by 0.02 percentage points to 0.99%, while the others remained stable or declined compared to last year.

Corporate non-performing rates have decreased, but real estate loan non-performing rates remain high

According to analyst Ni Jun from GF Securities, the 22 listed banks that disclosed annual reports saw their corporate non-performing rate decrease by 0.14 percentage points to 1.07% last year, with significant declines in industries such as infrastructure, wholesale and retail, and manufacturing. Sector-wise, the non-performing rate of corporate real estate loans in 2025 remains high, followed by wholesale and retail, construction, and manufacturing. Moreover, under the debt-to-asset restructuring background, loans in the infrastructure sector generally perform well, with non-performing rates continuing to decline.

In terms of corporate real estate loans, there are large differences among banks, showing a “polarization” trend.

For example, Zhengzhou Bank’s non-performing rate for the real estate sector was 9.55% in 2024 and decreased to 5.11% in 2025, a drop of 4.44 percentage points. The non-performing amount in the real estate sector also fell from 2.12B yuan in 2024 to 941 million yuan in 2025, a decline of over 50%. Minsheng Bank’s total non-performing real estate loans also dropped sharply from 16.69 billion yuan to 11.74 billion yuan, driving the non-performing rate in the real estate sector down from 5.01% to 3.61%.

However, some banks face upward pressure on their real estate non-performing rates. For instance, Chongqing Bank and ICBC saw declines in their real estate non-performing rates in 2024, to 5.63% and 4.99%, respectively, but in 2025, they rose by 2.12 and 0.4 percentage points, reaching 7.75% and 5.39%.

Regarding personal housing loans, based on Wind data, many banks that have disclosed relevant information saw their non-performing rates increase, with only Minsheng Bank experiencing a decline; Industrial Bank’s rate remained flat compared to last year.

Specifically, Zhengzhou Bank’s personal housing non-performing rate rose from 1.04% to 1.28%, ICBC from 0.73% to 1.06%, Bank of Communications from 0.58% to 1.01%, Agricultural Bank from 0.73% to 0.92%, China Construction Bank from 0.63% to 0.89%, Postal Savings Bank from 0.64% to 0.69%, and China Merchants Bank from 0.48% to 0.51%.

Notably, ICBC Vice President Wang Jingwu stated at this year’s earnings conference that the bank’s personal loan asset quality has long been excellent. In the past two years, due to economic transformation, real estate market adjustments, and phased supply-demand imbalances, the non-performing rate has risen in the short term, consistent with the overall industry trend.

Personal housing loan non-performing rates are generally rising

Compared to corporate loans, the pressure in the retail loan sector is more widespread — many banks have seen their retail loan non-performing rates continue to rise, with personal housing loans being one of the main pressure points.

According to Wind data, among banks that have disclosed relevant information, only Minsheng Bank’s personal housing non-performing rate declined, while Industrial Bank and last year remained flat; others have experienced varying degrees of increase.

Specifically, Zhengzhou Bank’s personal housing non-performing rate increased from 1.04% to 1.28%, ICBC from 0.73% to 1.06%, Bank of Communications from 0.58% to 1.01%, Agricultural Bank, CCB, Postal Savings Bank, and China Merchants Bank all saw small increases. ICBC’s vice president Wang Jingwu explained at the earnings conference that the bank’s personal loan asset quality has been excellent long-term, but recent impacts from economic transformation and real estate market adjustments have caused short-term increases in non-performing rates, aligning with industry trends.

Beyond personal housing loans, risks across the entire retail loan segment are rising. Ni Jun pointed out that the retail non-performing rate in 2025 increased by 0.24 percentage points from the beginning of the year to 1.71%, with credit card, consumer loan, and mortgage non-performing rates rising by 0.12, 0.10, and 0.07 percentage points, respectively. Different business lines are all facing certain risk pressures.

As a representative of retail banking, China Merchants Bank’s performance is quite indicative: its small microloan non-performing rate surged from 0.79% to 1.22%, personal housing non-performing rate slightly increased from 0.48% to 0.51%, while consumer loan non-performing rate slightly declined. The bank’s Chief Risk Officer Xu Mingjie admitted that this year, risks in the retail credit market are still rising, and credit card asset quality also faces certain pressures. The bank will take active measures to control retail credit risks and keep retail credit quality basically manageable.

Daily Economic News