CM Bank, widely known as the "Retail King" in China's banking sector, has released its interim report for the first half of 2026. The report reveals that the bank achieved robust growth, with operating revenue climbing 4.83% year-on-year to RMB 178.181 billion. Net profit attributable to shareholders also rose by 2.02% to RMB 76.445 billion, maintaining a dual upward trajectory for both revenue and profit figures during the reporting period.

In addition, the bank's net interest income continued its upward trend, and wealth management-related fee income registered notably high growth, underscoring its leadership position in the retail segment. These results helped sustain its annualized average return on equity attributable to shareholders at 13.42%, a level that remains well above the industry average.

Net Interest Income Rises Against the Trend

According to the semi-annual report, CM Bank recorded net interest income of RMB 112.022 billion in the first half, a year-on-year increase of 5.60%, which accounted for 62.87% of total operating revenue. This marks a notable increase despite a challenging market backdrop. The company attributed this growth primarily to reduced interest expenses resulting from a lower cost rate on interest-bearing liabilities. Specifically, while a decline in the yield on interest-earning assets led to a 2.42% year-on-year drop in interest income, the bank's interest expenses fell by a much steeper 14.41%, resulting in a positive contribution to overall net interest income. This suggests that during the prevailing interest rate downtrend, the bank effectively countered the pressure on asset yields through stringent control over its liability costs, enabling a positive growth trajectory for net interest income.

Wealth Management Fees and Commissions Surge 27% Year-on-Year

The interim report also shows that CM Bank achieved non-net interest income of RMB 66.159 billion in the first half, up 3.56% year-on-year. Within this, net fee and commission income reached RMB 39.855 billion, reflecting a 5.99% increase. Of the total fee and commission income, wealth management fees and commissions were a standout performer, surging 26.53% year-on-year to RMB 16.192 billion. This strong performance aligns with the bank's strategic focus on expanding its wealth management and asset management businesses. Furthermore, custody service commission income climbed 20.52% to RMB 3.142 billion, while settlement and clearing fees rose 4.72% to RMB 7.961 billion. Although investment income was impacted by a high base effect from bond and other financial instrument gains, the bank still delivered a fair value change gain of RMB 4.581 billion, which increased by RMB 9.4 billion year-on-year, largely driven by higher valuation gains on bond investments and non-money market fund investments. Net exchange gains also performed well, rising 28.12% to RMB 1.859 billion.

Mobile App User Base Exceeds 124 Million

For the "Retail King", client metrics remain a key focus of interest. As of the end of the reporting period, the bank's total assets stood at RMB 13.78 trillion, up 5.47% compared to the end of the prior year. Total loans and advances to customers reached RMB 7.453 trillion, a 2.69% increase, while total liabilities grew 5.45% to RMB 12.432 trillion. In a significant milestone, customer deposits surpassed the RMB 10 trillion threshold, reaching RMB 10.16 trillion, up 3.32% from the end of last year. Regarding deposit structure, the average daily balance of demand deposits accounted for 49.60% of the total average daily balance of customer deposits during the period, an increase of 0.20 percentage points compared to the full year of last year. On the client front, the combined monthly active users (MAU) of the CM Bank App and the Palm Life App reached 124 million. The treasury management cloud service clients numbered 913,300, representing a 14.26% increase from the end of last year. Wholesale online channels also saw growth, with MAU reaching 2.3867 million, up 12.03% year-on-year.

Asset Quality Remains Stable

In the current environment, the performance and growth of joint-stock banks are often differentiated by their asset quality. The interim report indicates that CM Bank's overall asset quality has remained stable. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio at the end of the period was 0.94%, unchanged from the end of last year. The provision coverage ratio remained at a high level of 385.10%, while the loan provision ratio held steady at 3.63%, indicating that the bank's risk absorption capacity remains strong. Looking at the loan structure, corporate loans reached RMB 3.5076 trillion, an increase of 9.08% compared to the end of last year. The NPL ratio for corporate loans improved to 0.78%, down 0.11 percentage points, with the absolute NPL amount declining by RMB 1.203 billion to RMB 27.419 billion, pointing to improving asset quality in that segment. In terms of capital adequacy, the bank, under the advanced measurement approach, reported a core tier 1 capital adequacy ratio of 14.07%, a tier 1 capital adequacy ratio of 16.59%, and a total capital adequacy ratio of 18.33% as of the end of the reporting period. These levels are considered abundant and fully meet regulatory requirements.