9 Bank-affiliated Insurance Companies Achieved Combined Net Profit Exceeding 19 Billion Yuan Last Year

This article is reprinted from: Securities Daily

Reporter Yang Xiaohan

Recently, the disclosure of insurance companies’ 2025 Q4 solvency reports has nearly concluded, and the operational status of bank-affiliated insurance companies has also been revealed. Data shows that in 2025, bank-affiliated insurers performed well, with 9 such companies achieving a total insurance business income of 443.816 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%, and a total net profit of 19.366 billion yuan, up 65.5% year-on-year.

Experts interviewed stated that the significant year-on-year increase in net profit for bank-affiliated insurers last year was mainly influenced by low base effects, a rebound in the equity market, improved asset quality, and business scale effects.

Total net profit saw a substantial increase

Bank-affiliated insurers are insurance companies directly or indirectly controlled by banks. Compared to other insurers, bank-affiliated insurers have closer cooperation with their parent banks and possess certain resource advantages.

Specifically, in terms of insurance business income, in 2025, the 9 bank-affiliated insurers collectively achieved insurance business income of 443.816 billion yuan, a 15.5% increase year-on-year, with all nine companies reporting growth in insurance income. Among them, China Post Life Insurance Co., Ltd., ICBC-AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd., and CCB Life Insurance Co., Ltd. ranked the top three with insurance incomes of 159.166 billion yuan, 50.864 billion yuan, and 49.269 billion yuan, respectively.

Regarding net profit, in 2025, all nine bank-affiliated insurers were profitable, with a combined net profit of 19.366 billion yuan, a 65.5% increase year-on-year. One insurer turned profitable from loss, seven saw their net profits increase year-on-year, and one experienced a decline.

Notably, among the 57 non-listed personal insurance companies that have disclosed solvency reports, bank-affiliated insurers ranked in the top 20 in net profit. Of the top ten non-listed personal insurers by net profit, five are bank-affiliated.

In this regard, Yang Fan, General Manager of Beijing PaiPai Network Insurance Agency Co., Ltd., analyzed to Securities Daily that last year’s overall operation of bank-affiliated insurers showed a strong recovery trend of “both volume and profit rising,” driven mainly by precise market opportunity grasping and channel advantages.

He explained that the rapid growth in insurance business income was mainly due to increased demand for stable financial assets in a low-interest-rate environment. Relying on the parent bank’s extensive branch network and customer trust, bank-affiliated insurers dominated the bancassurance channel, achieving rapid scale expansion. The significant increase in net profit was primarily due to improved investment returns from a rebound in the equity market, cost dilution effects from business scale, and some insurers’ low profit base last year, along with asset quality improvements leading to the reversal of previously recognized loss provisions, all contributing to impressive profit performance.

Building differentiated competitive barriers

As the business of bank-affiliated insurers grows rapidly, their capital consumption also accelerates. Data shows that most of these insurers experienced a decline in their core solvency adequacy ratio and comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio compared to the previous year.

Specifically, in 2025, the average core solvency adequacy ratio of the nine bank-affiliated insurers was 115.89%, down 34.46 percentage points year-on-year, and the average comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio was 179.39%, down 50.25 percentage points. Eight insurers saw declines in both ratios compared to 2024.

According to Zhang Lingjia, President of Guangdong Kelly Capital Management Co., Ltd., the decline in solvency ratios is mainly due to rapid business expansion consuming large amounts of capital. Additionally, declining market interest rates require insurers to increase reserve provisions, reducing actual capital. Furthermore, the full implementation of the “Solvency II” Phase II regulations and stricter regulatory requirements continue to exert pressure on solvency ratios.

Looking ahead, Zhang believes that bank-affiliated insurers should shift from “scale-driven” to “value-driven” development, focusing on deepening transformation toward pension, health, and other protection-oriented products. Upgrading asset allocation capabilities to navigate cycles and strengthening ecological collaboration with parent banks to provide comprehensive financial services are key. Insurers should also enhance capital management, balancing business expansion with solvency safety.

Yang Fan suggests that bank-affiliated insurers should leverage their unique “bank-insurance synergy” advantage, transforming from reliance on channels to deep ecological integration, building differentiated competitive barriers. On the product side, breaking dependence on savings products and developing diversified “protection + wealth management” product matrices based on the extensive customer profiles of banks to explore full lifecycle customer value. On the service side, integrating parent bank resources to build a “financial + health care” ecosystem, enhancing service value. Additionally, utilizing the parent bank’s fintech capabilities to promote digital transformation, enabling precise marketing and refined operations, thereby achieving high-quality sustainable development amid fierce market competition.