Has CITIC Bank's "most generous" year broken dividend records?

Question AI · How will CITIC Bank focus on high value-added business areas in the future?

Respecting investors and rewarding investors has always been CITIC Bank’s business philosophy.

Produced by | Zhongfang Network

Reviewed by | Li Xiaoyan

On the evening of March 20, CITIC Bank disclosed its 2025 annual report, delivering a steady yet impressive performance. In a complex environment of macroeconomic pressure and continued narrowing of industry interest spreads, the bank achieved its first net profit attributable to shareholders exceeding 70 billion yuan and its total assets surpassing 10 trillion yuan. It also launched the most substantial cash dividend plan in history, distributing 21.2 billion yuan throughout the year. This performance not only demonstrates the resilience of leading joint-stock banks but also marks CITIC Bank’s official entry into a new stage of high-quality development that emphasizes both scale and quality.

In 2025, CITIC Bank’s operational indicators achieved historic breakthroughs, with key data showing positive trends. The annual report shows the bank achieved operating income of 212.475 billion yuan and net profit attributable to shareholders of 70.618 billion yuan, up 2.98% year-on-year, maintaining a leading position among joint-stock banks. Amid industry-wide profit pressures, CITIC Bank maintained steady growth through refined cost control and risk management, with total business and management fees of 67.159 billion yuan, down 3.24% year-on-year; credit and other asset impairment losses of 58.172 billion yuan, down 4.81%, effectively easing impairment pressures and supporting profit growth.

In terms of scale, CITIC Bank reached a milestone. By the end of 2025, total assets reached 10.13 trillion yuan, up 6.28% year-on-year, officially entering the “trillion-yuan club” of domestic banks and becoming a benchmark for high-quality development among joint-stock banks. The asset-liability structure remained stable, with loans and advances totaling 5.86 trillion yuan, up 2.48%; customer deposits totaling 6.05 trillion yuan, up 4.69%, providing sufficient funding for business expansion.

Nankai University finance professor Tian Lihui pointed out that the development logic of trillion-yuan joint-stock banks has shifted from “scale-driven” to “quality-driven.” The core task is to leverage nationwide networks and comprehensive licenses to build moats in high value-added areas such as wealth management, investment banking, and financial technology. The scale breakthrough of CITIC Bank is not merely about size expansion but reflects a concentration of comprehensive service capabilities, risk management, and market competitiveness, laying a foundation for further deepening professional expertise and improving capital returns.

Asset quality is the core foundation of prudent banking operations. In 2025, CITIC Bank’s asset quality showed a differentiated trend, with improvements in corporate assets and pressures in retail assets, maintaining overall risk controllability. By year-end, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 1.15%, a slight decrease of 0.01 percentage points from the previous year, continuing the improvement trend; the provision coverage ratio was 203.61%, remaining above a reasonable threshold of 200%, indicating sufficient risk resistance.

Looking at business segments, corporate assets showed significant improvement. The non-performing rate of corporate loans decreased from 1.27% to 1.09%. Key sectors such as manufacturing and leasing services saw risk convergence, reflecting the bank’s effectiveness in serving the real economy and optimizing credit allocation. Retail assets, affected by residents’ repayment capacity, saw a slight increase in personal loan NPLs, with small fluctuations in personal consumption loans and credit card NPLs—common challenges faced by banks today.

It is noteworthy that CITIC Bank actively and responsibly manages non-performing assets through compliant and transparent disposal methods. Recently, CITIC Bank Tianjin Branch listed and transferred 1,123 personal consumer loan non-performing assets on the Credit Asset Registration Center, with a total principal and interest of about 112 million yuan. The transferees are explicitly required not to use violence for collection, not to transfer again, and to strictly protect personal information, all in accordance with regulatory standards and market principles. This move responds to the national financial supervision policy on normalized disposal of non-performing assets and demonstrates the bank’s responsibility in safeguarding consumer rights and maintaining its brand reputation—showing the responsibility and commitment of state-owned financial institutions.

Regionally, the Bohai Rim area remains a key focus for CITIC Bank. The Tianjin Branch, as a direct subordinate of the head office, actively promotes asset optimization and business expansion by clearing non-performing assets and reallocating credit resources to better support local real economy development, aligning with the bank’s overall strategy to improve asset quality.

Facing industry pressure from narrowing interest spreads, CITIC Bank actively promotes income structure transformation, with non-interest income becoming a stabilizer for profits. In 2025, the bank’s net interest margin was 1.63%, narrowing by 0.14 percentage points year-on-year; net interest income declined by 1.51%, consistent with industry trends. Against this backdrop, the bank focused on intermediary business, achieving non-interest net income of 68.006 billion yuan, up 1.55%, with its proportion of operating income rising to 32.0%.

Specifically, net fee and commission income reached 32.772 billion yuan, up 5.58%. Wealth management fees increased by 45.17%, and business areas such as agency, custody, and settlement continued to grow steadily, enhancing the bank’s wealth management and integrated financial service capabilities. Although card fee income fluctuated slightly, the resilience of non-interest income growth validates the effectiveness of the bank’s “maintain interest margin and expand intermediary income” strategy, providing diversified support to withstand industry cycle fluctuations.

On the capital front, the bank’s core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 9.48%, Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 10.90%, and total capital adequacy ratio was 12.80%, all meeting regulatory requirements. The slight decline in capital adequacy levels results from the combined effects of scale expansion and profit distribution. Future measures such as market-based capital replenishment and asset structure optimization can effectively ease capital pressures and ensure long-term development.

Respecting and rewarding investors remains CITIC Bank’s consistent philosophy. In 2025, the bank launched its most substantial cash dividend plan ever, distributing a total of 21.201 billion yuan, with cash dividends accounting for 31.75% of net profit attributable to shareholders, both hitting record highs. Specifically, interim dividends amounted to 10.461 billion yuan, with an expected dividend of 1.93 yuan per 10 shares, and a total annual dividend of 3.81 yuan per 10 shares, making it highly attractive among joint-stock banks.

High and stable dividends are not only a recognition of the bank’s 2025 performance but also a sign of confidence in future growth. Amid profit pressures in the banking industry, CITIC Bank continues to share development dividends with shareholders, steadily increasing investor returns, further enhancing market recognition, and building long-term stable investor relationships.

Overall, CITIC Bank’s 2025 performance remains steady and improving, with three core highlights: a trillion-yuan scale, 70 billion yuan in net profit, and 20 billion yuan in dividends, outlining a resilient image of a leading joint-stock bank. Despite facing challenges such as narrowing interest spreads, pressures on retail asset quality, and capital replenishment, the bank has effectively hedged external pressures through cost control, structural optimization, compliant operations, and risk management, maintaining sound fundamentals.

Standing at the new milestone of 10 trillion yuan, CITIC Bank is accelerating its transition from scale expansion to quality enhancement, focusing on core sectors such as wealth management, investment banking, and financial technology, strengthening professional capabilities and customer experience, and building a comprehensive financial service advantage. In the future, with continued asset quality improvement, income structure optimization, and more refined capital management, CITIC Bank will further unleash its development potential, achieve a win-win situation in serving the real economy and high-quality development, and create long-term value for capital markets and investors.