After serving in an acting capacity for nearly seven months, Zijin Bank's president has had their qualification for the position approved—what challenges will they face?

How does AI Qu Zhenghe’s rural financial background influence bank strategy?

Zijin Bank recently announced that the Jiangsu Financial Regulatory Bureau approved Qu Zhenghe’s qualification for the position of president. It has been nearly seven months since Qu Zhenghe began acting as the bank’s president.

Investment Time Network, Punctuation Finance Researcher Tian Wenhui

Jiangsu Zijin Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd. (referred to as Zijin Bank, 601860.SH) finally received regulatory approval for Qu Zhenghe’s appointment as president after nearly seven months of acting in the role. For the newly confirmed president, boosting Zijin Bank’s performance may be a significant challenge.

According to Zijin Bank’s recent announcement, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission Jiangsu Bureau (referred to as Jiangsu Financial Regulatory Bureau) approved Qu Zhenghe’s appointment as director and president of Zijin Bank. Qu Zhenghe was appointed as president on August 21, 2025, and has been acting in that role until his appointment was approved by financial regulators.

In the first quarter of Qu Zhenghe’s acting tenure, the third quarter of 2025, Zijin Bank’s performance showed accelerated decline. In the first three quarters of 2025, the bank’s net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 10.90% year-on-year, far exceeding the 0.02% profit decline of commercial banks in the same period. In the third quarter alone, net profit attributable to shareholders fell by 33.73% year-on-year. At the end of that quarter, the bank’s non-performing loan ratio also increased compared to the end of the previous year.

Investment Time Network and Punctuation Finance Researcher sent a communication outline regarding the approval of the president’s appointment to Zijin Bank, but had not received a reply as of press time.

Approval of President’s Appointment

After nearly seven months of acting, Qu Zhenghe’s appointment as president of Zijin Bank was finally approved by regulators.

On March 16, Zijin Bank announced that it had received the “Approval of Qu Zhenghe’s Appointment as Director and President of Zijin Rural Commercial Bank” from the Jiangsu Financial Regulatory Bureau, confirming his appointment.

Previously, Qu Zhenghe served as Deputy Party Secretary and acting president of Zijin Bank.

On August 21, 2025, Zijin Bank announced that the board of directors had approved the appointment of Qu Zhenghe as president, concurrently serving as Chief Compliance Officer, and that the shareholders’ meeting had elected him as executive director. At that time, his appointment still required approval from financial regulators. Before that, Qu Zhenghe was acting as president.

According to Zijin Bank’s announcement, Qu Zhenghe was born in August 1975, has extensive experience in rural finance, and has worked at Siyang Federation of Rural Cooperatives, Siyang Rural Cooperative Bank, Hongze County Rural Credit Cooperative, Jiangsu Rural Credit Union, and Jiangsu Rural Commercial Bank.

He has served as General Manager of Funds Operations at Siyang Federation of Rural Cooperatives and Branch Manager of Peixu; General Manager of Credit Management at Siyang Rural Cooperative Bank; Deputy Director at Hongze County Rural Credit Cooperative; General Manager of Business Management at Jiangsu Rural Credit Union; and General Manager of Business Management (Inclusive Finance Department) at Jiangsu Rural Commercial Bank.

Performance Accelerated Decline in Q3 2025

In the first quarter of Qu Zhenghe’s acting presidency, Zijin Bank’s performance declined rapidly.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Zijin Bank’s operating income decreased by 5.42% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders decreased by 10.90%. In the third quarter alone, operating income fell by 18.44%, and net profit attributable to shareholders dropped by 33.73%.

The main reason for the decline in performance in the first three quarters of 2025 was a 17.36% year-on-year decrease in net interest income, primarily driven by a 12.3% decline in interest income.

In recent years, the growth rate of net interest income has continued to slow, with increases of 1.89%, -1.86%, and -7.22% from 2022 to 2024.

Regarding asset quality, at the end of the third quarter of 2025, Zijin Bank’s non-performing loan ratio was 1.35%, up 0.11 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

Under the dual pressures of performance and asset quality, Zijin Bank’s stock price also performed poorly. On March 19, the stock closed at 2.84 yuan, down 13.41% from the high point in July 2025, and down 69.72% from the peak in March 2019 after listing.

The low stock price has also led to a very low conversion rate of the bank’s convertible bonds several years after issuance.

On January 5, Zijin Bank announced the results of convertible bond conversions. As of December 31, 2025, a total of 494,000 yuan of “Ziyin Convertible Bonds” had been converted into the bank’s stock, totaling 115,330 shares, accounting for 0.0032% of the bank’s total shares before conversion. The remaining convertible bonds amounted to 4,499,506,000 yuan, accounting for 99.9890% of the total issuance.

Zijin Bank’s convertible bonds were issued on July 23, 2020, with a total of 4.5 billion yuan, a 6-year term, with trading starting on August 17, 2020, and conversion beginning on January 29, 2021.

At the time of the announcement, the conversion price was 3.65 yuan per share. On January 29 this year, the bank announced that after the 2025 interim profit distribution, the conversion price would be adjusted to 3.60 yuan per share. However, the stock price remains below the conversion price.

Recent Years’ Net Interest Income Growth Rate

Data source: Zijin Bank financial reports

Investment Keywords: Zijin Bank (601860.SH)

Author’s note: Personal opinions only, for reference.