Zijin Bank's revenue and net profit declined in the first three quarters of last year, with credit impairment losses continuing to increase.

More than six months later, Que Zhenghe’s qualification as a director and president of Zijin Bank has been approved. Currently, the leadership structure of “one president and five vice presidents” has basically formed, and adjustments to senior management have temporarily come to a halt. The future impact on performance remains to be verified over time.

In fact, Que Zhenghe bears a heavy burden, as Zijin Bank has faced revenue bottlenecks in recent years with limited growth. In the first three quarters of 2025, the bank recorded a decline in both revenue and net profit, which is related to a significant drop in net interest income.

According to the official website, Zijin Bank was established in March 2011 through the merger of four credit cooperatives from Nanjing’s urban area, Jiangning District, Pukou District, and Liuhe District. On January 3, 2019, it successfully listed on the main board of the A-share market, becoming the first provincial capital city rural commercial bank to go public in China, the sixth A-share listed rural commercial bank nationwide, and the eighth A-share listed bank in Jiangsu Province. As of the end of September 2025, total assets amounted to 286.034 billion yuan.

Performance fluctuations, with a decline in both revenue and profit in the first three quarters of last year. From 2020 to 2024, Zijin Bank experienced performance fluctuations, achieving operating revenues of 4.477 billion yuan, 4.502 billion yuan, 4.507 billion yuan, 4.42 billion yuan, and 4.463 billion yuan, showing little overall change; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.441 billion yuan, 1.515 billion yuan, 1.6 billion yuan, 1.619 billion yuan, and 1.624 billion yuan, slightly outperforming revenue.

According to a quick analysis, in the first three quarters of 2025, the company reported declines in both revenue and net profit, totaling 3.273 billion yuan and 1.204 billion yuan, representing year-on-year decreases of 5.42% and 10.9%, respectively. In the third quarter, performance significantly dropped, achieving revenue and net profit of 881 million yuan and 291 million yuan, respectively, with year-on-year declines of 18.44% and 33.73%.

Net interest margin continues to decline, and the decrease in loan interest income has expanded. In recent years, banks have faced a continuous decline in net interest margin; Zijin Bank’s margin fell from 1.91% in 2020 to 1.42% in 2024, and further declined to 1.17% in the first three quarters of 2025, a cumulative drop of 0.74 percentage points.

At the same time, net interest income transitioned from growth to decline, with a growth rate of 1.93% in 2022, followed by declines of 1.87% and 7.23% in the next two years. In the first three quarters of last year, it experienced a significant year-on-year decline of 17.34% to 2.38 billion yuan, which was key to the overall revenue decline.

In 2024, Zijin Bank’s loan interest income was 7.042 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 298 million yuan, with corporate loan and personal loan interest income of 4.805 billion yuan and 1.967 billion yuan, respectively, representing year-on-year decreases of 34 million yuan and 218 million yuan.

Entering 2025, the decline in loan interest income became more pronounced. The mid-term report showed 3.137 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 486 million yuan, with corporate loan and personal loan interest income of 2.248 billion yuan and 759 million yuan, respectively, reflecting year-on-year decreases of 199 million yuan and 270 million yuan, adversely affecting net interest income and subsequently total revenue.

Non-interest income has turned positive. Zijin Bank’s non-interest income has fluctuated greatly, experiencing declines for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, with decreases of 6.68%, 14.64%, 13.2%, and 2.44%, while in 2024, it surged by 71.6% year-on-year to 789 million yuan, and in the first three quarters of 2025, it increased by 53.67% year-on-year to 893 million yuan.

Looking further, net income from fees and commissions and investment income were 197 million yuan and 698 million yuan, respectively, reflecting year-on-year increases of 41.54% and 72.64%. However, fair value changes resulted in a loss of 16.86 million yuan, compared to a gain of 2.33 million yuan in the same period last year, and other income was 618,000 yuan, down from 2.779 million yuan in the previous year.

Credit impairment losses have increased, and the provision coverage ratio has declined. It is worth noting that Zijin Bank’s credit impairment losses have increased significantly, amounting to 816 million yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 149 million yuan, and 742 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 34 million yuan. The main component of credit impairment losses is loan impairment losses, with a loss of 646 million yuan reported in the mid-term report for 2025, a year-on-year increase of 113 million yuan. Loan quality still requires the company’s attention.

Additionally, Zijin Bank’s provision coverage ratio has declined significantly, standing at 201.44% in 2024, a year-on-year decrease of 45.81 percentage points, and at 184.81% in the third quarter of 2025, down 16.63 percentage points from the beginning of the year.

In the secondary market, Zijin Bank’s stock price has shown significant volatility, generally presenting an “inverted V” trend. Since the low point of 2.47 yuan per share in April 2025 (after adjustments), it rose to 3.29 yuan per share, then fell again. As of the close on March 20, the stock price was 2.80 yuan per share, nearly a 15% drop from the high point, with a total market value of 10.25 billion yuan and a TTM price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94 times.

Whether among major institutions or the number of shareholders, there has been an overall decline. In the 2024 annual report, the number of institutions holding shares in the company and the cumulative number of shares held were 109 and 1.325 billion, respectively. By the third quarter of 2025, these numbers had decreased to 9 and 1.123 billion shares; the total number of shareholders dropped from 67,000 at the end of 2024 to 63,000 in the third quarter report of last year, a decrease of 4,000 households.