Overview of Asset Quality for 22 A-Share Listed Banks: Overall Improvement, Retail Under Pressure, State-Owned Six Major Banks Perform Outstandingly

As of March 31, 2026, among 42 A-share listed banks, 22 have already released their 2025 “scorecards,” including the six state-owned “big banks” (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China), which have all made their full debut.

Judging from the 2025 annual reports submitted by these listed banks, overall asset quality at listed banks has generally shown a trend of improving steadily. For most banks, the ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) was basically unchanged or improved compared with the previous year; four banks saw a slight increase, presenting an overall improving picture.

But regarding structural changes, reporters from the Economic Daily noticed that the NPL ratio for real estate in corporate lending at some listed banks has risen. In addition, the overall NPL ratio for banks’ retail loans has increased, and the NPL ratios for personal mortgage loans at multiple banks have also risen.

Asset quality overall trending better

Asset quality is the “lifeline” of commercial banks. High-quality asset performance means that the bank’s assets can be recovered on time for both principal and interest, indicating stronger resilience against risks, thereby safeguarding the bank’s sound operations and sustainable development.

Based on the disclosed 2025 annual reports, the asset quality of the 22 listed banks mentioned above as a whole is showing an improving trend, in line with the overall data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration. In 2025, NPL ratios for banks of all types improved, with rural commercial banks showing the most significant improvement: by the fourth quarter, the NPL ratio fell by 0.14 percentage points from the first quarter to 2.72%.

As the stabilizer of the banking industry, the six state-owned “big banks” are particularly noteworthy. Except for Postal Savings Bank of China, the five banks—Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications—all recorded year-on-year declines in their overall NPL ratios, with the decline concentrated between 0.02 and 0.03 percentage points. Specifically, the NPL ratios at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank were both 1.31%, at Bank of Communications it was 1.28%, at Agricultural Bank of China it was 1.27%, and at Bank of China it was 1.23%, all remaining at relatively low levels.

At present, among the joint-stock banks that have already disclosed their 2025 annual reports, China Minsheng Bank, Industrial Bank, and Everbright Bank saw slight increases in their NPL ratios, respectively rising by 0.02, 0.01, and 0.02 percentage points to 1.49%, 1.08%, and 1.27%.

Among regional banks, reporters from the Economic Daily noted that as of March 31, 2026, seven banks have disclosed their 2025 NPL ratios. These seven banks are Zhengzhou Bank, Chongqing Bank, Yuzhong Rural Commercial Bank, RuiFeng Bank, Qingdao Bank, Zhangjiagang Bank, and Wuxi Bank. Among them, RuiFeng Bank’s NPL ratio edged up by 0.02 percentage points to 0.99%, while the NPL ratios of the other banks were either unchanged from the previous year or declined.

Real estate loan NPL ratios still relatively high

Guangfa Securities analyst Jun Ni pointed out that as of March 31, 2026, among the 22 listed banks that have released their 2025 annual reports, the 2025 corporate NPL ratio fell by 0.14 percentage points compared with the end of 2024 to 1.07%; among them, the NPL ratios for industries such as broad-based infrastructure, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing saw larger declines. By industry, in 2025, the NPL ratio for commercial banks’ corporate real estate loans remained relatively high, followed by wholesale and retail trade, construction, and manufacturing. In addition, against the backdrop of deleveraging, loan quality in the infrastructure sector has generally been strong, and the NPL ratio continues to trend downward.

For corporate real estate loans, differences among banks are significant, showing a “polarization” pattern.

Taking Zhengzhou Bank as an example, its NPL ratio for the real estate industry was 9.55% in 2024 and 5.11% in 2025, with a decline of 4.44 percentage points. In addition, the bank’s real estate-related NPL amount also fell from 21.23 billion yuan in 2024 to 9.41 billion yuan in 2025, a reduction of more than 50%. China Minsheng Bank’s total NPL amount for the real estate industry also dropped sharply—from 16.69 billion yuan in 2024 to 11.74 billion yuan in 2025—driving its real-estate-related NPL ratio to fall from 5.01% to 3.61%.

However, some banks face pressure from rising real estate NPL ratios. For example, Chongqing Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China both achieved declines in their real estate NPL ratios in 2024, falling to 5.63% and 4.99% respectively, but in 2025 those ratios rose by 2.12 percentage points and 0.4 percentage points, reaching 7.75% and 5.39% respectively.

In terms of personal housing loans, Wind data shows that as of March 31, 2026, the NPL ratios of multiple banks with relevant information disclosed have risen, with only China Minsheng Bank’s NPL ratio declining, while Industrial Bank’s remained flat.

For example, Zhengzhou Bank rose from 1.04% in 2024 to 1.28% in 2025; Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose from 0.73% in 2024 to 1.06% in 2025; Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% in 2024 to 1.01% in 2025; Agricultural Bank of China rose from 0.73% in 2024 to 0.92% in 2025; China Construction Bank rose from 0.63% in 2024 to 0.89% in 2025; Postal Savings Bank of China rose from 0.64% in 2024 to 0.69% in 2025; and China Merchants Bank rose from 0.48% in 2024 to 0.51% in 2025.

Reporters from the Economic Daily noted that at a 2025 performance briefing, Wang Jingwu, Vice President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, said that the bank’s asset quality for personal loans has long remained excellent. In the past two years, due to factors such as economic transformation, adjustments in the real estate market, and periodic imbalances between supply and demand, the NPL ratio has risen somewhat in the short term, consistent with the overall industry trend.

NPL ratios for personal mortgage loans generally rising

Compared with corporate lending, retail lending faces more widespread pressure. In 2025, the NPL ratios for retail loans continued to rise at multiple banks, with personal housing loans becoming one of the main pressure points.

Wind data shows that as of March 31, 2026, among A-share banks with relevant information disclosed, only China Minsheng Bank’s NPL ratio for personal housing loans declined, while Industrial Bank’s remained flat.

Specifically, Zhengzhou Bank’s NPL ratio for personal mortgage loans rose from 1.04% in 2024 to 1.28% in 2025, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose from 0.73% to 1.06%, Bank of Communications rose from 0.58% to 1.01%, and Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, and China Merchants Bank also all saw slight increases.

At a 2025 performance briefing, Wang Jingwu, Vice President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, explained that the bank’s asset quality for personal loans has long been excellent. In the past two years, due to factors such as economic transformation and adjustments in the real estate market, the NPL ratio rose in the short term, consistent with the overall industry trend.

In addition to personal mortgage loans, risk across the entire retail lending segment is increasing. Jun Ni said that at the end of 2025, the NPL ratio in the banking retail loan sector rose compared with the beginning of the year, and that all different business lines faced a certain level of risk pressure.

Reporters from the Economic Daily noted that China Merchants Bank’s performance is quite representative: its NPL ratio for micro and small loans surged from 0.79% in 2024 to 1.22% in 2025; its NPL ratio for personal mortgage loans rose slightly from 0.48% in 2024 to 0.51% in 2025; and only its NPL ratio for consumer loans declined slightly.

Xu Mingjie, Chief Risk Officer of China Merchants Bank, candidly said that in 2026, risks in the retail credit market are still in an upward phase, and there is also some pressure on credit card asset quality. China Merchants Bank will also take active measures to control the risks in retail credit, ensuring that the quality of retail credit remains basically controllable.