Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.

For the first 9 months of 2025, ICBC reported operating income of CNY 611 billion, up 2% year on year, and net profit of CNY 271.9 billion, up 0.5% year on year. Annualized ROA and ROE were 0.71% and 9.3%, respectively, and the cost-to-income ratio was 26.55%. NIM was 1.28%, down 14 bps year on year, though management said the quarterly decline narrowed. At quarter-end, total assets were above CNY 52.81 trillion, customer loans were CNY 30.45 trillion, bond investments were CNY 16.01 trillion, and customer deposits were CNY 37.3 trillion. NPL ratio was 1.33%, CAR was 18.85%, provision coverage was 217.1%, and the loan loss provision ratio was 2.89%. Management guided full-year NIM to around 1.26% and said NIM is likely to stabilize over the coming 1 to 2 years.

Tian Fenglin framed the quarter as evidence that ICBC is balancing scale, profitability, and risk amid a difficult external environment. He emphasized the bank’s five transformations, intelligent risk control, and diversified operations, saying profitability stabilized and rebounded while growth remained steady. His tone was constructive and forward-looking, with a focus on serving the real economy and delivering sustained returns to investors.

The finance team said the improvement came from three sources: steadier net interest income, growth in fee-based income, and better risk cost control. They said newly issued RMB corporate loan rates fell to 2.7% and newly issued RMB personal loan rates to 3.01% by September, while the RMB deposit interest payment rate declined to 1.32%, down 35 bps from the end of last year. They also highlighted fee-based income of CNY 19.9 billion, up 0.6%, and trading-related income of CNY 46.7 billion, up 45.7%, while noting the NPL ratio held at 1.33% and provision coverage increased to 217.1%.

Analysts pressed on whether ICBC can keep revenue and profit growing, and management said the key is balancing loan pricing and volume, expanding fee income, and containing risk costs. On NIM, management said the current pressure is manageable, the decline is moderating, and the inflection point could come over the next 1 to 2 years, with further rate cuts depending on macro conditions. Questions on deposits, inclusive finance, real estate, and trade/tariff risk drew responses that deposit migration is not showing a sustained trend, inclusive-loan asset quality is stable, real estate exposure is manageable because it is less than 3% of loans, and tariff impacts on corporate borrowers are limited.