The Big Six state-owned banks in China reported a combined net profit of 1.72 trillion yuan for the first three quarters of 2025. By October 30, all six had released their Q3 financial results, showing aggregate revenue of approximately 2.73 trillion yuan, up 1.87% year-on-year (YoY), and net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.72 trillion yuan, a 1.22% YoY increase.

All six banks achieved positive YoY growth in both revenue and net profit, with Q3 performance driving much of the improvement. However, net interest margins (NIM) continued to decline for five of them, though the pace of contraction has slowed significantly.

By the end of Q3, the Big Six’s total assets approached 218 trillion yuan, up 1.85% from mid-year. Asset quality improved for five banks, with non-performing loan (NPL) ratios declining, while one bank saw a slight increase.

**Revenue and Profit Rebound, but NIM Pressures Remain** In the first nine months of 2025, all six banks returned to positive YoY growth in revenue and net profit. ICBC and Bank of China led in revenue growth at 2.69% and 2.17%, respectively. Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) maintained its lead in net profit growth at 3.03%, while Bank of Communications (BoCom) and Bank of China posted increases above 1%.

In absolute terms, ICBC, CCB, and ABC recorded net profits of 269.9 billion yuan, 257.4 billion yuan, and 220.9 billion yuan, respectively. Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank (PSBC), and BoCom followed with 177.7 billion yuan, 76.6 billion yuan, and 70 billion yuan.

The Q3 performance marked an improvement over H1, when three banks saw net profit declines. While net interest income continued to fall for most, BoCom was the sole exception with a 1.46% increase. CCB and Bank of China reported declines exceeding 3%.

NIMs narrowed further, though the quarterly contraction slowed to 0.01–0.04 percentage points (pp), compared to a 0.17 pp drop in H1. Bank of China’s NIM held steady at 1.26%.

Fee-based income rose across the board, with ABC and PSBC leading at 13.34% and 11.48% growth, respectively. Investment income also supported earnings, with five banks posting gains of 7.62%–150.55%, while BoCom saw an 18.16% decline.

**Faster Asset Expansion, Improved Asset Quality** By Q3-end, ICBC remained the largest by assets at 52.81 trillion yuan, followed by ABC (48.14 trillion yuan) and CCB (45.37 trillion yuan). ABC and CCB resumed double-digit asset growth, up 11.33% and 11.83% from year-start.

Total loans exceeded 127 trillion yuan, up 9 trillion yuan from end-2024. Bank of China, PSBC, and ABC led loan growth, each expanding over 8%. Deposits grew 6%–8% across the board.

NPL ratios improved for five banks, while PSBC’s rose 0.04 pp. Provision coverage ratios were mixed, with three banks seeing slight increases and three reporting declines. PSBC’s ratio fell from 286% to around 240%, while ABC remained the highest at 295.08%.

**Market Performance** ABC led in market capitalization at 2.74 trillion yuan, followed by ICBC at 2.59 trillion yuan. ABC was the only Big Six bank trading above book value, with a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.03x.

(Note: Market cap calculations use A-share and H-share prices, converted at real-time exchange rates.)