Entering April, A-share listed banks are intensively disclosing their annual reports. As of April 9, 22 banks have released their financial reports for the year 2025, and another 7 banks have issued performance bulletins.
According to a report by the International Financial News, from the 22 disclosed annual reports, in 2025, the net interest margin of listed banks continues the previous downward trend, although the decline has narrowed, and the number of banks experiencing a decrease in net interest margin has also reduced. Meanwhile, the net interest income of the 22 sample listed banks performed better than the same period last year, with 12 banks achieving positive growth, and many banks' intermediary business income has also shown signs of recovery.
Industry experts interviewed pointed out that the decline in net interest margin in 2026 will be lower than in 2025. With the narrowing of the decline in net interest margin and minimal drag from other non-interest income, bank revenue is expected to continue improving, and profits can maintain stable growth.
18 banks see a narrowing decline in net interest margin
As a core indicator of bank profitability, net interest margin refers to the ratio of a bank's net interest income to all interest-earning assets. During the disclosure window for listed banks' annual reports, changes in net interest margin are always a focal point of market attention.
From the trend, data from the annual reports of the 22 listed banks show that in 2025, 18 institutions further narrowed their net interest margin, with declines ranging from 0.01 to 0.23 percentage points. Bank of Chongqing and MINSHENG BANK achieved an increase in net interest margin, rising by 0.04 and 0.01 percentage points to 1.39% and 1.40%, respectively. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Ruifeng Bank maintained stability, with net interest margins of 1.42% and 1.50%, respectively. In contrast, in the previous reporting period, all 22 banks experienced a decline in net interest margin, with the highest drop reaching 0.51 percentage points.
In terms of specific values, by the end of 2025, the net interest margin of the 22 banks had all fallen below 2%. Currently, China Merchants Bank ranks first with a level of 1.87%. The net interest margin level of state-owned large banks is generally lower, with five institutions, excluding Postal Savings Bank, falling to the bottom, and Bank of Communications currently at the bottom with a net interest margin of 1.20%.
Data released by the National Financial Regulatory Administration shows that by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the industry level of commercial banks' net interest margin was 1.42%, still at a historical low. It is noted that among the 22 institutions mentioned, only 12 are above this average value, just over half.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OrywkeDyDliDMt_1lIxZWHChrRCKKJ9X4k4uaLYTAnjH4AA/641?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="Image" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://inews.gtimg.com/om_bt/OrywkeDyDliDMt_1lIxZWHChrRCKKJ9X4k4uaLYTAnjH4AA/641"/> Table compiled by Li Ruohan
Ma Kunpeng, chief analyst of the banking industry at CITIC Securities, believes that against the backdrop of a weak macroeconomic recovery, effective demand has not shown significant recovery, and competition among peers is fierce, with asset-side interest rates still in a downward range.
&#34;In the second half of 2025, the loan yield of listed banks is expected to decrease by 21bps (basis points) compared to the first half, down to 3.40%. However, as time deposits gradually mature and are repriced, the benefits of lowering deposit listing rates will continue to manifest
In the second half of the year, the deposit cost of listed banks decreased by 17bps compared to the first half, reaching 1.55%, effectively supporting the interest margin. &#34;Currently, loan rates have dropped to a low level. With the continuous optimization of liability costs and flexible management of asset sides, the decline in net interest margin for listed banks is expected to continue to narrow, and the decline in net interest margin in 2026 should be lower than that for the entire year of 2025,&#34; pointed out Ma Kunpeng.
Looking ahead at the trend of net interest margins, Lin Yingqi, a banking analyst at China International Capital Corporation (CICC), noted that the narrowing of the net interest margin decline is mainly due to previous clean-up of manual interest compensation and adjustments to the self-discipline mechanism for interbank deposits, among other liability-side factors. The active capital market has also contributed to the &#34;migration&#34; of deposits. However, considering that subsequent measures to reduce liability costs may be more moderate and that asset-side pressures remain, the long-term interest margin may not have reached its bottom. It is expected that the decline in interest margins will continue to narrow in 2026 (estimated at 6bp), but in the long term, interest margins are still on a downward trend, mainly due to weak credit demand, a long-term decline in the proportion of retail in the credit structure, and significant interest rate declines after the repricing of long-term debts.
Recovery of Middle Income in Multiple Institutions
It is worth mentioning that in terms of net interest income, the overall performance of 22 listed banks exceeded that of the same period last year.
According to annual report data, by the end of 2025, the total net interest income of the 22 banks reached CNY 3.76 trillion, a decrease of CNY 34.134 billion compared to the previous year, a year-on-year decline of 0.90%, but the decline has narrowed. Meanwhile, 12 banks achieved positive year-on-year growth in net interest income. Bank of Chongqing and Qingdao Bank both achieved double-digit growth rates of 22.44% and 12.11%, respectively.
Wang Xianshuang, chief analyst of the banking industry at Guolian Minsheng Bank, pointed out in a research report that the marginal drag of interest margins on performance further eased in the second half of 2025. On one hand, the interest rates of newly issued loans gradually stabilized, and on the other hand, high-interest deposits were replaced upon maturity, continuously improving the banks' liability costs, which supports the interest margin.
During the interest rate decline cycle, developing intermediate business income has also become an important way for banks to seek business growth points. Annual report data shows that the proportion of non-interest net income has increased for multiple institutions.
For example, CITIC Bank noted in its annual report that by the end of 2025, the group achieved non-interest net income of CNY 68.006 billion, an increase of CNY 1.039 billion from the previous year, a growth of 1.55%, with the proportion of non-interest net income at 32.01%, an increase of 0.67 percentage points from the previous year. The reporter noted that the bank's net income from fees and commissions grew by 5.58% year-on-year, with wealth management fees increasing by CNY 1.909 billion from the previous year, a growth of 45.17%.
Ni Jun, chief analyst of the banking industry at GF Securities, pointed out that among the 22 listed banks, the performance of intermediate business income showed significant differentiation, with wealth management and payment settlement demand supporting the continuous increase in middle income growth rates. Overall, service-oriented banks with a good customer base and strengths in agency custody and other wealth management businesses, as well as payment settlement businesses, performed better in middle income, providing certain support for performance. Other non-interest income also showed differentiation, with state-owned large banks that have a low proportion of gold market income and more stable investments performing better
&#34;The decline in interest margin has continued to narrow, and the recovery of non-interest income has led to a return to positive growth for listed banks' core revenue. There has been no improvement in credit demand, and the growth rate remains stable. With the optimization of costs on the liability side, the interest margin basically stabilized at the margin in the fourth quarter of last year. As wealth management gradually recovers, the growth of non-interest income has accelerated, while other non-interest income has maintained a large single-digit growth amid fluctuations in the bond market. Asset quality meets expectations, with a quarter-on-quarter increase in the non-performing loan generation rate, ongoing exposure to risks in corporate real estate, and no turning point observed for retail and small micro-enterprise risks.&#34; Ma Kunpeng pointed out, &#34;Looking ahead to 2026, as the decline in interest margin narrows and other non-interest income does not drag down significantly, revenue is expected to continue improving, and profits can maintain stable growth.&#34;
Reporter: Li Ruohan
Text Editor: Yao Hui

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As of April 9, 2025, the annual reports of 22 A-share listed banks show that the decline in net interest margin has narrowed, with 18 banks experiencing a decrease in net interest margin ranging from 0.01 to 0.23 percentage points, while Bank of Chongqing and MINSHENG BANK achieved an upward trend against the odds. Overall, the net interest income of banks performed better than the previous year, with 12 banks achieving positive growth. Experts predict that the decline in net interest margin in 2026 will be lower than in 2025, and bank revenue is expected to improve, with profits maintaining stable growth

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18 banks narrowed their decline, 2 went against the trend, is the net interest margin of listed banks stabilizing at the bottom?