Industrial Bank reports growth in both revenue and net profit, with results already evident from liability cost reductions.

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After Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and China CITIC Bank, Industrial Bank has released its 2025 report card.

In the recently disclosed performance report, this joint-stock bank’s revenue and profit growth rates have almost drawn a parallel line—

In 2025, Industrial Bank achieved operating income of 212.741 billion yuan, an increase of 0.24% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 77.469 billion yuan, with growth of only 0.34%.

Given the industry-wide backdrop of continued narrowing interest spreads, this nearly “standing still” growth is not surprising, but it also directly reflects the growing difficulty for commercial banks to offset falling prices via scale expansion.

The weighted average ROE, which better reflects shareholder returns, fell by 0.74 percentage points to 9.15%, while basic earnings per share also edged down to 3.46 yuan due to expanding share capital;

Although management stressed in the announcement that operations were marked by “steady progress and increased resilience,” the data indicates that the strategy of leveraging non-interest income to fill the gap left by declining interest income faced considerable challenges in 2025.

On the asset side, by the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s total assets expanded to 11.09 trillion yuan, representing a growth rate of 5.57% and maintaining a relatively restrained pace of expansion;

What is notable is the “scissor difference” in deposit and loan growth—that is, the loan balance grew by only 3.70%, clearly lagging overall asset growth. Meanwhile, deposit balance growth reached 7.18%, nearly double that of loans.

This divergence reveals the dual reality currently faced by the banking industry:

On one hand, high-quality loan demand remains scarce, and the “asset drought” has limited banks’ impulse to expand their balance sheets;

On the other, rapid deposit growth confirms what the announcement mentioned about “effectively reducing liability costs,” as banks actively absorb low-cost liabilities to build an interest spread defense line.

In terms of asset quality, the risk bottom line remains solid, but pressure is emerging:

The non-performing loan ratio edged up by 1 bp to 1.08%, still within the industry’s relatively good range; however, the non-performing loan balance increased by 2.774 billion yuan, indicating that under the dual strategy of “controlling new cases and promoting disposal,” pressure from newly generated non-performing loans persists.

One signal worth noting is the decline in the provision coverage ratio:

At the end of 2025, the indicator dropped by 9.37 percentage points to 228.41%. Although this level far exceeds regulatory requirements and provides ample risk protection, with net profit growth at only 0.34%, the weakening intensity of provisioning may have played a role in smoothing profits to some extent.

Strategically, Industrial Bank continues to strengthen its focus on key areas such as technology, green finance, and inclusive finance.

In the future, the real highlight for Industrial Bank will be whether this “low-speed cruise” status has already reached a bottom.

Although headline data appears flat, optimizing the asset-liability structure, controlling liability costs, and maintaining a strong provision buffer all leave room for interest spreads to stabilize going forward.

2025 is a year where Industrial Bank has struggled to balance scale and profitability; whether it has truly hit bottom and begun to recover may require further confirmation from annual report data.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market involves risk, and investments need to be made with caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their particular circumstances. Investments made on this basis are at one’s own risk.

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