--- title: "Understanding the Market | Domestic bank stocks' afternoon decline widens as the Audit Office reports and names several banks; institutions indicate that pressure from scale growth raises concerns about profit limits" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/290782821.md" description: "Affected by the audit office's report naming multiple banks for violations, the decline of domestic bank stocks widened in the afternoon. Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and others fell sharply. Institutions pointed out that weak demand for real economy financing has put pressure on bank scale growth, raising concerns about profit ceilings. Additionally, changes in market risk appetite have led to the banking sector underperforming the broader market" datetime: "2026-06-25T06:07:02.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/290782821.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290782821.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/290782821.md) --- # Understanding the Market | Domestic bank stocks' afternoon decline widens as the Audit Office reports and names several banks; institutions indicate that pressure from scale growth raises concerns about profit limits According to Zhitong Finance APP, the decline of Chinese bank stocks widened in the afternoon. As of the time of publication, Bank of China (03988) fell by 5.5% to HKD 4.98; Agricultural Bank of China (01288) dropped by 3.23% to HKD 5.4; Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (01398) decreased by 2.51% to HKD 6.6; China Construction Bank (00939) fell by 2.47% to HKD 8.28. On the news front, on June 23, the National Audit Office reported to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the audit of the execution of the central budget and other fiscal revenues and expenditures for the year 2025, naming about seven financial institutions. Among them, Agricultural Bank of China had lax pre-loan reviews and illegally issued loans of 11.066 billion yuan to non-high-standard farmland projects, with some funds misappropriated for purchasing wealth management products and repaying debts; Bank of China evaded taxes of 2.367 billion yuan by taking advantage of tax exemptions for public funds. Dongxing Securities pointed out that since 2026, the bank index has cumulatively fallen by 2.4%, underperforming the Shanghai Composite Index by 8.8 percentage points, with its growth ranking low among industry indices. From an absolute return perspective, the main concern is the pressure on bank scale growth due to weak effective financing demand in the real economy, which raises worries about profit ceilings. From a relative return perspective, it is mainly influenced by market risk appetite. In April and May of this year, the sector exhibited defensive attributes, reflecting increased market volatility and a contraction in risk appetite, highlighting the defensive nature of the banking sector ### Related Stocks - [601288.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601288.CN.md) - [01288.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01288.HK.md) - [601988.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601988.CN.md) - [03988.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/03988.HK.md) - [BACHY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BACHY.US.md) - [ACGBY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ACGBY.US.md) - [01398.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/01398.HK.md) - [601398.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601398.CN.md) - [IDCBY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IDCBY.US.md) - [00939.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/00939.HK.md) - [601939.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601939.CN.md) - [CICHY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CICHY.US.md) - [601198.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601198.CN.md) - [000001.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/000001.CN.md) - [02388.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02388.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [SUNeVision unit signs HK$3 billion loan facilities with Bank of China (Hong Kong)](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290807407.md) - [Heavyweights in Transition: Hong Kong's Financial and Property Sectors](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290670748.md) - [Singapore Airlines launches $221 million dim sum bond at 2.38% yield](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290553464.md) - [HOLD-Singapore Airlines lines up banks for 5-year offshore yuan bond](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290375565.md) - [Crédit Agricole (ENXTPA:ACA) Could Be 12% Undervalued Following Cajamar Partnership](https://longbridge.com/en/news/290931297.md)