HONG KONG, March 29, 2026, 18:14 HKT
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC), the world’s biggest bank by assets, reported a 0.7% rise in 2025 profit attributable to shareholders, reaching 368.56 billion yuan. The board is recommending a larger year-end dividend. Data from Reuters showed shares of the bank in Hong Kong finished Friday at HK$6.62, a 0.9% gain. Reuters
The figures resonate far past a single name. ICBC serves as a key gauge for mainland Chinese banks listed in Hong Kong, a group whose investors remain uncertain: Is the squeeze on margins and the hit from property exposure actually improving, or just stabilizing for now? Reuters
They arrive with Beijing weighing a shift in its rules for major bank shareholders. According to Reuters, regulators are considering letting certain investors own stakes of 5% or higher in as many as two more banks—currently, the cap sits at two. The change could broaden the pool of investors and give banks a needed boost in capital. Reuters
ICBC has put forward a year-end ordinary dividend of 0.1689 yuan per share, up from 0.1646 yuan last year. That bumps the total ordinary dividend for the year to 0.3103 yuan a share, translating to roughly 110.59 billion yuan pre-tax. According to the Hong Kong filing, if shareholders sign off on the plan, H-share holders on the record as of May 12 would see payments land on June 16. Hkexnews
Operating income ticked up 1.9% to 801.40 billion yuan, driven largely by an 11.8% gain in non-interest income. Net interest income edged down 0.4%. Total assets reached 53.48 trillion yuan, with customer loans up at 30.51 trillion yuan. Hkexnews
The pressure on core lending spreads didn’t let up. Net interest margin narrowed again, dropping to 1.28%, down from 1.42% in 2024. Non-performing loan ratio, tracking overdue loans, edged lower to 1.31%—a slight improvement from 1.34%. Hkexnews
Management’s tone came off more composed than the raw growth figures suggested. “Net interest margins will contract at a slower pace,” Vice President Yao Mingde told reporters after earnings, Reuters reported. Analyst Zhang Yiwei, from China Galaxy Securities, pointed to deposit repricing as the “main driver” for the expected rebound in bank earnings this year, estimating it could boost sector margins by roughly 12 basis points. Reuters
Similar trends are playing out at ICBC’s competitors. China Construction Bank logged 1% profit growth for 2025 and Bank of Communications came in at 2.2%. Shares of ICBC, CCB, and Postal Savings Bank each gained over 1% in Hong Kong on Friday, with investors responding to talk of potential changes in shareholder regulations, according to Reuters.
The recovery remains elusive. According to Reuters, China’s property market hasn’t hit bottom yet. Moody’s banking analyst Nicholas Zhu warned that higher oil prices and political unrest could push up asset risks for banks, affecting both lending and investments. Reuters
Hong Kong investors get what they’ve seen before: a hefty cash dividend, asset quality ticking up a bit, but earnings barely budging and the underlying margin stubbornly flat. Hkexnews
