New President Wang Xiaoqing Appears at the Shareholders’ Meeting, Explaining How China Merchants Bank Maintains Medium- and Long-Term Operating Momentum

**【Caixin】**Nearly two months after returning to China Merchants Bank (600036.SH/03968.HK, hereinafter referred to as "CMB"), Wang Xiaoqing appeared publicly for the first time as the proposed president at the 2025 annual general meeting of shareholders. His qualification for the presidency is still in the approval process of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

"CMB, which I took over from President Wang Liang, carries the accumulated operational heritage of generations of CMB staff, and also has a healthy and stable balance sheet that many analysts describe as 'fortress-like.'" On June 25, 2026, Wang Xiaoqing frankly stated at the shareholders' meeting that CMB currently faces multiple challenges.

Wang Xiaoqing explained that from an industry perspective, banks generally face three major challenges: first, the downward trend in net interest margins caused by the low-interest-rate cycle; second, in order to better support the real economy, the entire financial industry, including banks, is reducing fees and yielding profits; in addition, in recent years, the repayment ability and willingness of some customers have declined, leading to an increase in the non-performing loan ratio for retail banking.