Overview of Asset Quality of 22 A-Share Listed Banks: Corporate Loans Generally Improving, Several Banks Experience Rising Non-Performing Personal Mortgage Rates

By Daily Economic News Reporter | Zhao Jingzhi    By Daily Economic News Editor | Huang Sheng

As of March 31, among 42 A-share listed banks, 22 have already released their 2025 “report cards.” Among them, the six largest state-owned banks have all made their appearances.

Judging from the annual reports, listed banks’ asset quality shows a steady-to-improving trend. For most banks, the ratio of non-performing loans is basically unchanged or has improved compared with last year. Four banks saw a small increase, but overall the picture remains favorable.

However, regarding structural changes, the reporter noted that some listed banks saw a rise in the non-performing rate of real estate in their corporate lending portfolios. In addition, the overall non-performing rate for retail loans at banks continues to increase, and the non-performing rates for individual residential mortgage loans at multiple banks have also risen.

Overall improvement in asset quality for listed banks

Asset quality is the “lifeline” of commercial banks. High-quality asset quality means banks can collect principal and interest on schedule, have stronger risk resistance, and thereby ensure sound operations and sustainable development.

Based on the annual reports that have already been disclosed, the asset quality of the 22 listed banks as a whole shows an improvement trend. This aligns with the overall data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration— in 2025, non-performing loan ratios for banks of all types improved. The improvement at rural commercial banks was the most significant: the non-performing ratio in the fourth quarter fell by 0.14 percentage points from the first quarter to 2.72%.

As the ballast of the banking industry, the six largest state-owned banks have performed especially well. Other than Postal Savings Bank, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, CCB, and Bank of Communications all recorded year-on-year declines in their overall non-performing loan ratios, with the magnitude of the declines concentrated between 0.02 and 0.03 percentage points. Specifically, ICBC and CCB both have a non-performing loan ratio of 1.31%; Bank of Communications is 1.28%, Agricultural Bank of China is 1.27%, and Bank of China is 1.23%, all staying at relatively low levels.

As for joint-stock banks, nine banks have currently disclosed their annual reports: China Merchants Bank, Ping An Bank, Industrial Bank, CITIC Bank, Pudong Development Bank, Everbright Bank, Zheshang Bank, Minsheng Bank, and Huaxia Bank. Among them, Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank, and Everbright Bank saw slight increases in their non-performing loan ratios by 0.02 percentage points, 0.01 percentage points, and 0.02 percentage points to 1.49%, 1.08%, and 1.27%, respectively. For the other six banks, their non-performing loan ratios have all declined versus the end of last year.

Among regional banks, currently 7 banks have disclosed non-performing ratios: Zhengzhou Bank, Chongqing Bank, Yuzhou Rural Commercial Bank, RIFENG Bank, Qingdao Bank, Zhangjiagang Bank, and Wuxi Bank. Of these, RIFENG Bank’s non-performing ratio edged up by 0.02 percentage points to 0.99%; for the other banks, their non-performing ratios are either unchanged or declined compared with the end of last year.

Corporate non-performing ratio declines, but real estate loan non-performing ratio remains relatively high

According to analysis by Ni Jun, a securities analyst at GF Securities, among the 22 listed banks that have published annual reports, the corporate non-performing loan ratio last year decreased by 0.14 percentage points from the end of the prior year to 1.07%. Among them, non-performing loan ratios declined significantly in broad infrastructure, wholesale and retail industries, manufacturing, and other sectors. By industry, in 2025, the non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks’ corporate real estate loans remained high; next were wholesale and retail, construction, and manufacturing. In addition, against the background of debt reduction efforts, loan quality in the infrastructure sector has generally been strong, and the non-performing ratio continued to trend downward.

For corporate real estate loans, different banks show large differences in their performance in this area, presenting a “two-tier” pattern.

Taking Zhengzhou Bank as an example: in 2024, its non-performing loan ratio for the real estate industry was 9.55%. In 2025, it was 5.11%, a drop of 4.44 percentage points. Moreover, the bank’s real estate non-performing loan amount also fell from 2.12B yuan in 2024 to 941M yuan in 2025, a decline of more than 50%. Minsheng Bank’s total non-performing loans for the real estate industry also fell sharply from 16.69 billion yuan to 11.74 billion yuan, driving the real estate non-performing loan ratio down from 5.01% to 3.61%.

But some banks face pressure from a rise in real estate non-performing loan ratios. For example, Chongqing Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China both achieved declines in their real estate non-performing loan ratios in 2024—down to 5.63% and 4.99%, respectively. However, in 2025, both increased by 2.12 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, rising to 7.75% and 5.39%, respectively.

For personal housing loans, according to Wind data, the non-performing ratios of many banks with disclosed information have increased. Only Minsheng Bank saw a decline; Industrial Bank remained flat versus the prior year.

Among them, Zhengzhou Bank rose from 1.04% to 1.28%; ICBC rose from 0.73% to 1.06%; Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% to 1.01%; Agricultural Bank of China rose from 0.73% to 0.92%; China Construction Bank rose from 0.63% to 0.89%; Postal Savings Bank rose from 0.64% to 0.69%; and China Merchants Bank rose from 0.48% to 0.51%.

The reporter noted that Wang Jingwu, vice president of ICBC, said at this year’s performance briefing that the bank’s asset quality for personal loan products has long remained excellent. Over the past two years, due to factors such as economic transformation, adjustments in the real estate market, and temporary imbalances between supply and demand, the non-performing ratio has risen in the short term, which is consistent with the overall trend of the industry.

Personal mortgage non-performing ratios generally rise

Compared with corporate lending, retail lending faces more widespread pressure. The non-performing ratios of retail loans at multiple banks have continued to rise, with personal housing loans becoming one of the main areas under pressure.

According to Wind data, among banks with related information disclosed, only Minsheng Bank’s non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans declined, while Industrial Bank remained the same as last year; the rest all recorded increases to varying degrees.

Specifically, Zhengzhou Bank’s non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans rose from 1.04% to 1.28%; ICBC rose from 0.73% to 1.06%; Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% to 1.01%; Agricultural Bank of China, CCB, Postal Savings Bank, and China Merchants Bank also all saw small increases. Among them, at the performance briefing, ICBC’s vice president Wang Jingwu explained that the bank’s asset quality for personal loan products has long been excellent. In the past two years, due to factors such as economic transformation and adjustments in the real estate market, the non-performing ratio has risen in the short term, consistent with the overall industry trend.

Beyond personal mortgage loans, risks across the entire retail lending segment are rising. Ni Jun pointed out that in 2025, the retail non-performing ratio rose by 0.24 percentage points from the beginning of the year to 1.71%. Among them, non-performing ratios for credit cards, consumer loans, and mortgage loans increased by 0.12 percentage points, 0.10 percentage points, and 0.07 percentage points, respectively—different business lines are facing certain risk pressure.

As a representative of retail-focused banks, China Merchants Bank’s performance is quite representative. Its non-performing ratio for micro and small loans jumped from 0.79% to 1.22%. Its non-performing ratio for personal mortgage loans rose slightly from 0.48% to 0.51%. Only the non-performing ratio for consumer loans declined slightly. The bank’s chief risk officer, Xu Mingjie, acknowledged that this year the risk in the entire retail credit market is still in an upward phase, and there is also some pressure on credit card asset quality. China Merchants Bank will also take proactive measures to control risks in retail credit and ensure that the quality of retail credit remains basically controllable.

Cover image source: AIGC