China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd.

For the first half of 2026, net operating income was CNY 178.135 billion, up 4.83% year over year, and net profit attributable to shareholders was CNY 76.445 billion, up 2.02% year over year. Net interest income rose 5.6% to CNY 112.02 billion, while net noninterest income increased 3.56% to CNY 66.11 billion; fee and commission income was CNY 39.86 billion, up 5.99%, and wealth-management fee income was CNY 24.7 billion, up 18.44%. ROAA and ROAE were 1.14% and 13.42%, respectively, and the cost-to-income ratio was 29.7%. NIM was 1.83%, down 5 bps year over year. Total assets were CNY 13.79 trillion, up 5.47%; total loans and advances were CNY 7.45 trillion, up 2.69%; total liabilities were CNY 12.43 trillion, up 5.45%; and customer deposits exceeded CNY 10 trillion, up 3.32%. The annualized average cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 1.05%, down 30 bps year over year, and the average cost of customer deposits was 0.97%, down 29 bps. NPL balance was CNY 70.25 billion, NPL ratio was 0.94%, allowance coverage ratio was 385.1%, allowance to loan ratio was 3.63%, and annualized credit cost was 0.69%. For capital, CET1 CAR was 14.07%, Tier 1 CAR was 16.59%, and total CAR was 18.33% under the advanced approach; under the weighted approach, CET1 CAR was 11.84%, Tier 1 CAR was 13.96%, and total CAR was 15.06%. Management did not give a specific quarterly revenue or EPS guide; instead, it said loan growth in the second half is likely to remain around the current pace, with a previous long-term expectation around 7% now framed as roughly 5% currently, while NIM pressure should continue to ease and stabilize.

Xiaoqing Wang framed the quarter around responsibility, balance, and continued transformation. He said CMB must manage a large asset base, serve 120,000 employees, and meet investor expectations, while navigating a tougher environment of lower rates, softer credit demand, and higher retail-loan risk. His tone was cautious but confident: the bank should not abandon its retail and wealth-management strengths, and should instead deepen customer-centric service, technology investment, international capabilities, and branch differentiation.

Jiawen Peng focused on margin dynamics and liability management, saying NIM is still declining but the decline is narrowing, with first-half NIM at 1.83%, down 5 bps year over year and only 1 bp lower sequentially in Q2 versus Q1. He pointed to asset-side repricing and weak credit demand as the main pressures, while noting that deposit repricing is basically complete and that liability cost relief should continue to moderate. On deposits, he said the bank does not need large-denomination CDs for liquidity support at present and believes any impact on NIM would be limited. The broader financial picture was supported by a 1.05% annualized average cost of interest-bearing liabilities, 0.97% customer-deposit cost, 385.1% allowance coverage, and 3.63% allowance-to-loan ratio.

Analysts pressed management on whether the recent acceleration in revenue and profit can continue, how CMB plans to protect its retail franchise without resorting to price competition, what loan growth should look like long term, and whether large-denomination CDs could affect funding costs. Management said loan growth is likely to stay near the current pace in the second half, as the bank is prioritizing asset quality over scale and sees weak credit demand plus elevated retail risk. On retail banking, Wang Ying said CMB is focusing on integrated financial services, richer customer scenarios, and AI-enabled service models, with AUM and client base as key metrics. On AI, management said current deployments are already improving customer service, internal efficiency, and risk control, though the financial impact is not yet fully visible in the numbers.