Four A-share listed city commercial banks have now released their 2026 interim reports, with all showing positive growth in both operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders. The pace of year-on-year revenue expansion has also accelerated compared to the same period last year across the board.

On the evening of August 20, Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. (601963.SH) published its semi-annual report. This followed the simultaneous release of results by Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. (600919.SH) and Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. (002142.SZ) the previous day, alongside Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. (601009.SH) which had reported earlier. These four institutions represent the first wave of disclosures among the 17 listed city commercial banks in the A-share market.

Revenue Growth Exceeds 10% for Three Banks

Examining the top-line figures, all four lenders achieved positive revenue growth during the first half. Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd., Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd., and Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. each posted revenue increases exceeding 10%, coming in at 11.54%, 10.94%, and 10.79% respectively. Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. recorded a 9.11% year-on-year rise in revenue.

Specifically, Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. generated 31.596 billion yuan in operating revenue for the first six months, up 10.94% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 13.65 billion yuan, an increase of 8.17%. The bank attributed the revenue growth primarily to higher interest income. Net interest income surged 40.19% to 21.935 billion yuan, lifting its share of total revenue from 54.94% in the prior-year period to 69.42%.

Conversely, non-interest net income declined 24.73% to 9.661 billion yuan, representing 30.58% of total revenue, down 14.48 percentage points from a year earlier. Within this segment, net fee and commission income fell 18.50% to 2.283 billion yuan, while investment income dropped 28.80% to 5.757 billion yuan.

At the bank's interim results briefing held on the morning of August 20, Vice President and Board Secretary Jiang Zhichun addressed the trend, stating that the bank will enhance its comprehensive operations, accelerate technology-driven initiatives, improve service efficiency, and explore deeper scenario-based opportunities to maintain balanced and reasonable growth in non-interest income for 2026. Regarding fee and commission income, Jiang noted the bank will continue to strengthen its retail distribution business by enriching product offerings and enhancing the asset allocation capabilities of its staff to boost both customer value and fee-based revenue contributions.

Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. delivered operating revenue of 41.45 billion yuan in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 11.54%, while net profit attributable to shareholders grew 12.12% to 16.562 billion yuan. Both metrics maintained double-digit growth. Net interest income rose 14.26% to 29.394 billion yuan, and non-interest income increased 5.44% to 12.056 billion yuan. Notably, net fee and commission income performed strongly, surging 53.90% to 4.317 billion yuan.

As of the end of June, Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. held total assets of approximately 3.95 trillion yuan, up 8.81% from the start of the year, positioning it to potentially become the third city commercial bank to reach 4 trillion yuan in assets, following Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. and Bank of Beijing.

Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. also saw both revenue and net profit growth exceed 10% in the first half, reporting operating revenue of 8.486 billion yuan, up 10.79%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 3.518 billion yuan, up 10.29%.

By comparison, Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd., the largest among city commercial banks, recorded slightly more modest growth rates. The bank achieved operating revenue of 48.952 billion yuan, up 9.11% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 21.876 billion yuan, up 8.09%. Net interest income expanded 12.00% to 36.892 billion yuan, serving as the primary driver of revenue growth.

However, Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. continued to expand its asset base. Total assets reached 5.61 trillion yuan by the end of June, representing a 13.79% increase from the end of the previous year.

Net Interest Margins Narrow for Three Banks

Against a backdrop of industry-wide pressure, three of the four banks experienced net interest margin (NIM) compression. Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd., Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd., and Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. saw their margins decline by 7 basis points, 6 basis points, and 14 basis points respectively compared to the same period last year. Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. was the sole exception, with its NIM improving by 7 basis points year-on-year to 1.46%.

During the first half of 2026, Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. reported a NIM of 1.79%. Looking ahead, a business department head at the bank stated during the results briefing that the full-year NIM is expected to show marginal improvement alongside market fluctuations, stabilizing overall and remaining among the better levels seen in listed banks. Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. and Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. recorded NIMs of 1.70% and 1.64% respectively.

Industry-wide data points to a clear stabilization in net interest margins for Chinese banks. According to figures from the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the commercial banking sector's NIM stood at 1.41% in the second quarter, up 1 basis point from 1.40% in the first quarter—the first quarterly sequential improvement since the first quarter of 2022. City commercial banks specifically saw their NIM rise 2 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 1.40%.

Lou Feipeng, a researcher at Postal Savings Bank of China, noted that the sequential uptick in city commercial banks' NIMs should help support earnings stability or improvement.

Asset Quality and Provisioning

On the asset quality front, three of the four banks maintained non-performing loan (NPL) ratios below 1% as of the end of June. Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. posted an NPL ratio of 0.81%, its best level since listing. Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. held its NPL ratio steady at 0.76% compared to the end of last year. Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. improved its NPL ratio by 0.01 percentage points to 0.82%. Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. reduced its NPL ratio by 0.03 percentage points to 1.11%.

Provision coverage ratios, however, declined for both Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. and Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. compared to year-end 2025. Bank Of Jiangsu Co.,Ltd. saw its ratio fall 18.15 percentage points to 304.83%, while Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. dropped from 313.62% to 306.11%. In contrast, Bank Of Chongqing Co.,Ltd. increased its coverage by 1.73 percentage points to 247.31%, and Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. edged up 0.19 percentage points to 373.35%.

In response, Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. stated that it continues to maintain prudent and adequate provisioning while simultaneously stepping up risk resolution efforts. Although the coverage ratio has declined slightly, its risk-absorbing capacity remains sufficient. The bank said it will persist with a cautious and steady provisioning approach, maintaining reasonable allocation levels and overall stability in coverage to ensure robust risk resilience.

Interim Dividend Plans

Among the four banks, only Bank Of Ningbo Co.,Ltd. has announced an interim profit distribution plan for 2026. The proposal entails a cash dividend of 4 yuan (pre-tax) per 10 shares, totaling approximately 2.641 billion yuan, which represents 15.95% of net profit attributable to shareholders—up from 13.41% in the same period last year.

While Bank Of Nanjing Co.,Ltd. has yet to disclose its 2026 interim distribution plan, the bank noted in its semi-annual report that its 2025 annual shareholders' meeting had approved a resolution authorizing the board of directors to formulate and implement a specific 2026 interim profit distribution plan. This authorization allows the board to reasonably consider current performance conditions when determining the distribution, provided that profit distribution criteria are met.