Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | The third quarter reports of bank stocks are being disclosed one after another, with many banks showing improved performance. The net interest margin of the banking industry may stabilize (with related concept stocks attached)

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, the disclosure of the third quarter report for A-share listed banks in 2025 has begun. Following Hua Xia Bank taking the lead, Chongqing Bank, Ping An Bank, and Wuxi Bank have recently successively disclosed their third quarter reports. Overall, these four banks are expected to achieve growth in both revenue and net profit, or a narrowing of the decline, with improvements in asset quality. Next, several listed banks, including Nanjing Bank, Ningbo Bank, and Bank of China, will also successively disclose their third quarter reports. Banking analysts expect that thanks to factors such as a narrowing decline in interest margins, a reduced decline in net interest income, and stable asset quality, the overall revenue and net profit growth rate of the banking industry in the first three quarters can still maintain positive growth and a stable trend.

The financial report shows that in the first three quarters of 2025, Hua Xia Bank's operating income was 64.881 billion yuan, a decrease of 8.79% compared to the same period last year; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 17.982 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.86%, with a decline narrowing by 5.09 percentage points compared to the first half of the year; the net interest margin was 1.55%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.05 percentage points, with the decline also narrowing compared to the first half of the year. In terms of revenue composition, net income from fees and commissions, investment income, foreign exchange gains and losses, other business income, asset disposal gains and losses, and other income all increased compared to the same period last year, while net interest income and fair value change income both decreased compared to the same period last year. Notably, the fair value change income showed significant variation, with 3.326 billion yuan in the first three quarters of last year, while this year it was -4.505 billion yuan, which had a considerable drag on revenue.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Chongqing Bank achieved operating income of 11.740 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.40%; net profit was 5.196 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.42%; business and management expenses were 2.810 billion yuan, an increase of 253 million yuan compared to the same period last year, with a growth rate of 9.90%. The cost-to-income ratio was 23.93%, a decrease of 0.11 percentage points compared to the same period last year. From July to September, Chongqing Bank achieved operating income of 4.081 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.38%; net profit was 1.802 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.49%.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Ping An Bank achieved operating income of 100.668 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.8%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was 38.339 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 3.5%, with the decline narrowing compared to the first half of the year. Behind the gradually stabilizing performance is the bank's strengthening of low-cost deposit absorption and reduction of overall liability costs. From January to September, the average interest rate on interest-bearing liabilities was 1.73%, a decrease of 47 basis points compared to the same period last year; the average interest rate on absorbed deposits was 1.70%, a decrease of 43 basis points compared to the same period last year.

According to statistics, 10 banks have already seen increases in holdings by shareholders and executives this year, including Suzhou Bank, Nanjing Bank, Chengdu Bank, Chongqing Bank, Shanghai Bank, Everbright Bank, Lanzhou Bank, Postal Savings Bank, Wuxi Bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. In addition, funds and insurance capital have shown high enthusiasm for bank stocks this year, frequently making moves. China Merchants Bank, Postal Savings Bank, Zhengzhou Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, CITIC Bank, Hangzhou Bank, and Zhejiang Commercial Bank have all received stakes from insurance capital. "Against the backdrop of macroeconomic stabilization, loose monetary policy, and gradually released interest margin pressure, expectations for improved bank performance have increased, and executives and major shareholders are seizing future dividends through increased holdings," analysts believe. The frequent increases in holdings by banks reflect the combined effects of industry stabilization and favorable policy expectations, and also demonstrate the governance layer's firm belief in the long-term value of the enterprise CITIC Securities expects that the cumulative revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of listed banks in the first three quarters of 2025 will increase by 0.4% and 1.1% year-on-year, respectively, with growth rates rebounding compared to the mid-term report, mainly due to the narrowing decline in net interest margin and the profit release space brought about by the decline in credit costs. Among them, the performance growth rate of city commercial banks is expected to lead, while the net profit growth rate of large state-owned banks is likely to turn positive.

Zhongtai Securities believes that there is a possibility of stabilization in the net interest margin of the banking industry in the third quarter: first, the pressure on asset-side repricing has decreased in the third quarter; second, after the implementation of monetary policy in May, the decline in deposit rates has been greater than the decline in the Loan Prime Rate (LPR), which supports the interest margin. It is estimated that the net interest margin of A-share listed banks will increase by 0.7 basis points and 0.3 basis points quarter-on-quarter in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, respectively, remaining basically flat quarter-on-quarter. Zhongtai Securities stated that bank stocks have shifted from "pro-cyclical" to "weak cyclical," and they are optimistic about the stability and sustainability of the sector. In the current environment, from the perspective of balancing growth and defense, it is recommended to pay attention to city and rural commercial banks with growth potential and low valuations.

Related Concept Stocks:

China Merchants Bank (03968): Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that the A-shares and H-shares of the rated domestic banks have recorded absolute returns of 12% and 21% year-to-date, respectively. They believe that this is not due to investors' preference for dividend return in industry allocation, but mainly driven by the improvement in the fundamentals of various banks, including stabilizing asset quality and narrowing declines in net interest margin. Goldman Sachs believes that large state-owned banks and China Merchants Bank (03968) are more capable of achieving sustainable recovery in net interest margin compared to other peers, thus having greater potential for shareholder returns.

Postal Savings Bank of China (01658): According to the latest equity disclosure information from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on October 10, 2025, Postal Savings Bank of China (01658) was increased by 6.416 million shares at an average price of HKD 5.3638 per share by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, involving approximately HKD 34.4141 million.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (01398): Morgan Stanley recently stated that they believe the stock price of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will rise in the next 60 days, with a probability of occurrence of about 70% to 80% (very likely). Morgan Stanley expects ICBC to achieve another quarter of positive profit growth in the third quarter of this year, with a dividend yield of 6.1% providing an attractive return opportunity. Morgan Stanley has rated it as "Overweight," with a target price of HKD 7.6.

Agricultural Bank of China (01288): The latest data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shows that on October 16, Ping An Asset Management Co., Ltd. increased its holdings in Agricultural Bank of China (01288) by 6.531 million shares at a price of HKD 5.5267 per share, totaling approximately HKD 36.0949 million. After the increase, the latest number of shares held is approximately 6.152 billion shares, accounting for 20.01%