An analysis of performance reports from 12 listed banks reveals that Hangzhou Bank, Bank of Ningbo, and Bank of Nanjing, all located in the Yangtze River Delta region, continue to demonstrate strong growth momentum.

Currently, 12 listed banks have released their 2025 performance reports, including five joint-stock banks (CM BANK, Industrial Bank, China CITIC Bank, SPD Bank, and Hua Xia Bank) and seven regional banks (Bank of Ningbo, Bank of Nanjing, Hangzhou Bank, Bank of Qingdao, Qilu Bank, Bank of Xiamen, and Sunong Bank).

A detailed comparison of key core indicators from these 12 listed banks provides insights into the operational performance and trends for the banking sector in 2025.

**1. In an Era of Thin Margins, Growth in Fee-Based Business Stands Out**

Examining revenue changes reveals that regional banks performed better. Among the 12 listed banks, only Bank of Nanjing achieved revenue growth exceeding 10%, followed closely by Bank of Ningbo (8.01%). This highlights that city commercial banks in economically vibrant regions like the Yangtze River Delta can still achieve accelerated growth, leveraging their flexible operational mechanisms and deep regional presence. Hangzhou Bank, also in this region, saw its net profit attributable to shareholders grow by over 12%.

In 2025, the high growth in net fee and commission income for some regional banks was a notable highlight.

Hangzhou Bank stated in its performance report that by deepening institutional reforms in key business areas such as technology finance, micro and small enterprise credit, SME services, and wealth management, its net fee and commission income increased by 13.10% year-on-year. Outstanding loans for the manufacturing sector, technology sector, and green loans grew by 22.25%, 23.44%, and 22.75% respectively from the end of the previous year. Total retail client assets (AUM) grew by 15.73% from the end of the previous year.

Bank of Ningbo noted in its report that by continuously enhancing its specialized and comprehensive service capabilities in 2025, it achieved net fee and commission income of 6.085 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 30.72%, indicating strong momentum in its low-capital businesses. The bank's total financial assets under management for individual clients (AUM) reached 1,275.7 billion yuan, up 13.07% year-on-year. Bank of Nanjing also reported that its retail client financial assets (AUM) reached 1,002.5 billion yuan, an increase of 21.23% from the end of the previous year.

In contrast, joint-stock banks generally showed little change in revenue. Hua Xia Bank (-5.39%) experienced the most significant revenue decline in the group, indicating substantial challenges in its business transformation and credit structure adjustment. A notable change was the strong recovery and rebound demonstrated by SPD Bank in 2025, with net profit growing by 10.52%.

A very significant observation is that the growth rate of net profit generally exceeded the revenue growth rate. This was primarily due to many banks reducing provisions to release profits, alongside efforts to cut costs, improve efficiency, and decrease impairment loss provisions.

**2. Asset Scale: Rapid Balance Sheet Expansion for City Commercial Banks**

By the end of 2025, the total assets of four joint-stock banks—CM BANK, Industrial Bank, China CITIC Bank, and SPD Bank—had all surpassed the 10 trillion yuan mark, with CM BANK leading at 13.07 trillion yuan. The asset growth rate for joint-stock banks generally ranged between 5% and 7.5%. In 2025, Bank of Nanjing's total assets exceeded 3 trillion yuan for the first time.

Among regional banks, Bank of Qingdao (18.12%), Bank of Nanjing (16.63%), Qilu Bank (16.65%), Bank of Ningbo (16.11%), Hangzhou Bank, and Bank of Xiamen all achieved double-digit growth in total assets, demonstrating strong asset expansion capabilities.

**3. Profitability: Hangzhou Bank and CM BANK Lead in ROE**

ROE (Return on Equity) is one of the core indicators for measuring a bank's profitability. However, 10 out of the 12 banks experienced a decline in ROE. Bank of Qingdao (+1.17%) and SPD Bank (+0.48%) were the only two banks that achieved positive ROE growth.

In terms of ROE levels, Hangzhou Bank and CM BANK maintained their leading positions among peers. Hangzhou Bank's ROE reached 14.65% in 2025.

The decline in ROE for most banks in recent years indicates a weakening ability for internal capital replenishment, potentially leading to a need for intensive refinancing in the future.

**4. Asset Quality: Hangzhou Bank and CM BANK Perform Better**

Among the 12 listed banks, Hangzhou Bank and Bank of Ningbo had the lowest non-performing loan ratios, stabilizing at an industry-low level of 0.76%. Hangzhou Bank stated that by deepening the implementation of its "Five Authenticities" requirements for small and micro-enterprise credit and "Four Authenticities" for mortgage business, it maintained good asset quality, with risk resistance capabilities ranking among the top in the industry.

In terms of the provision coverage ratio, Hangzhou Bank remained at a high of 502.24%, the highest level in the industry. CM BANK's provision coverage ratio also stayed high at 391%. In contrast, another joint-stock bank, Hua Xia Bank, had the highest NPL ratio at 1.55%, with a provision coverage ratio of only 143.30%.

Note: All information in this article is sourced from publicly available materials and does not constitute any investment advice.