Industrial finance: How it has become the new strategy for Industrial Bank with 11 trillion yuan

On March 26, Industrial Bank released its 2025 annual report. Total assets for the first time surpassed 11 trillion yuan, and both revenue and net profit increased for the second consecutive year. The bank has made industrial finance the new core of its strategic focus, optimizing its asset structure and stepping up efforts in technology and green finance, using end-to-end comprehensive financial services to drive transformation and help build a modern industrial system.

Author: Wang Haiyan

Featured image: Photo by Tu Chuang

On the evening of March 26, Industrial Bank released its 2025 annual performance report. The report shows that by the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s group total assets reached 11.09 trillion yuan, up 5.58% from the end of the previous year; operating revenue was 212.741 billion yuan, up 0.24%; and net profit attributable to shareholders was 77.469 billion yuan, up 0.34%.

While total assets surpassed 11 trillion yuan, operating revenue and net profit both increased for two consecutive years, and market analysis described it as a “smile curve” indicating a rebound from the bottom. Beyond comparing changes in performance figures, the bank’s strategic transformation and refinement in its development path may also be an important reason supporting the stabilization of its performance.

Strategic planning and execution: the quality of a value-focused bank stands out

When you open the bank’s financial report, three sets of indicators are the main focus: scale, returns, and quality. How big the scale is, how strong the profitability is, and whether operations are steady—together, these allow a complete judgment of a bank’s operating situation.

In terms of scale, total assets broke through the 11-trillion-yuan mark. As of the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s group total assets reached 11.09 trillion yuan, up 5.58% from the end of the previous year, keeping it firmly in second place among joint-stock banks. Total deposits were 5.93 trillion yuan, up 7.18% from the end of the previous year; total loans were 5.95 trillion yuan, up 3.70%. Deposits and loans were both only one step away from 6 trillion yuan.

In terms of returns, revenue and net profit increased for two consecutive years. In 2025, operating income was 212.741 billion yuan, up 0.24%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 77.469 billion yuan, up 0.34%, achieving growth for two straight years. Last year’s net interest margin was 1.71%, down 11 basis points year over year, while maintaining a relatively strong level among peers. Net interest income was 148.752 billion yuan, up 0.44%, maintaining positive growth for three consecutive years.

In terms of quality, asset quality remained generally stable, and risks in key areas narrowed. The non-performing loan ratio was 1.08%, unchanged from the mid-year and third-quarter levels; the special-mention loan ratio was 1.69%, down 0.02 percentage points from the beginning of the year; the delinquency ratio was 1.49%, down 0.1 percentage points from the beginning of the year. The allowance coverage ratio was 228.41%, staying within a reasonable range.

Real estate, local government financing platforms, and credit cards are the three major risk areas the market focuses on. According to Industrial Bank’s annual report, in the real estate sector, the balance of corporate real estate financing decreased by 53.3 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, with newly generated non-performing loans falling year over year. In the local government financing platform sector, the debt balance decreased by 46.643 billion yuan from the beginning of the year; through substitutions with special-purpose bonds, the bank cumulatively reduced its business exposure by 35.8 billion yuan; and reversed impairment losses of nearly 1.7 billion yuan. In the credit card sector, the non-performing loan ratio and delinquency ratio each fell by 0.29 and 0.08 percentage points, respectively, from the beginning of the year.

At the 2025 annual performance briefing held on March 27, Chairman Lv Jiajin was direct: “The shifting landscape of a century is accelerating, and the transformation between old and new driving forces is profound. A large release of financial risks means that commercial banks face an operating environment different from before—especially the multi-dimensional tests of low interest rates, low interest-rate spreads, and high risks. Objectively speaking, the challenges to commercial banks’ operations and development under these conditions are still very significant. Against this backdrop, we will rise to the challenges, forge ahead with determination.”

Responding to changing conditions: stepping out of traditional credit thinking

While focusing on scale, returns, and quality, several data points have been given particular attention: both technology finance and green finance loans have crossed the 1-trillion-yuan mark; the loan balances for technology finance, green finance, and medium- and long-term loans for manufacturing each grew by 18.47%, 19.05%, and 14.91%, respectively, from the end of the previous year.

At the same time, real estate, leasing, and business services saw year-over-year less growth by 10.1 billion yuan, and the asset structure continued to improve.

These changes are not something that happened overnight, but rather “staying firm in strategy and carefully planning tactics.” In 2021, Industrial Bank proposed that, in line with the trend of China’s economic development shifting from the old three-cycle loop of “property—infrastructure—finance” to the new three-cycle loop of “technology—industry—finance.”

In 2021, Industrial Bank proposed to build and brighten the “three business cards” of green banking, wealth banking, and investment banking, and to accelerate digital transformation. In 2022, it proposed to speed up the layout of five new tracks: inclusive finance, fintech/innovative technology finance, energy finance, auto finance, and park finance. In 2023, all the five new tracks saw double-digit growth in corporate-and-industry loans compared with the beginning of the year.

In response to changes in the economic situation, Lv Jiajin said that Industrial Bank made forward-looking judgments and made plans in advance, seizing the market’s first-mover advantage.

Looking at the long term, over the past five years, Industrial Bank’s loans have increased by nearly 2 trillion yuan. Within that, loans for manufacturing, green finance, and technology finance grew by more than 1x, 2x, and 3x, respectively. Meanwhile, the share of loan categories such as real estate and local government platforms declined rapidly.

At present, China is vigorously advancing technological innovation and upgrading its industries, accelerating the development of new quality productive forces. Industrial Bank has clearly defined the strategic focus for developing industrial finance.

Lv Jiajin said that developing industrial finance is not simply a matter of “serving corporates and making loans.” Otherwise assets would be heavy, returns low, and space limited. The key is to plan around the layout of integrated development of industries that are both intelligent and green—using industry as the fulcrum—to update development concepts and change operating models. It should strengthen comprehensive financial services along the industrial chain, supply chain, equity chain, capital chain, and talent chain. Around modern industrial systems, corporate finance must be done, and household financial services for industrial workers must also be done, thereby driving the bank-wide transformation and development.

In Industrial Bank’s annual report, the bank showcased practices from its Chongqing branch and Fuzhou branch: when “laboratory economy” faced difficulties in obtaining financial support due to lack of collateral during the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, Industrial Bank tailored to local conditions to build a featured service model for technology finance. Using the laboratory economy and the integration of “innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain” as the key approach, it promoted the efficient transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

A new credit structure is taking shape. While loan quality is becoming healthier, it is also shifting toward an asset deployment structure, customer mix, and earnings structure that better align with high-quality development. For example, in 2025, the bank achieved growth in both the quantity and quality of customers. Retail customers reached 115 million households, up by 4.57 million from the beginning of the year. Among them, dual-benefit customers and private banking customers grew by 12.87% and 12.83%, respectively. Corporate-and-industry customers reached 1.667 million, up 131,600 from the beginning of the year. Customers classified as potential-and-above and value customers grew by 10.57% and 12.25%, respectively.

Continuing forward: seeking new breakthroughs in transformation and development

Looking back at the “14th Five-Year Plan,” Industrial Bank has upheld the Party’s leadership in building as the root and soul; has adhered to steady progress as the overall working tone; has regarded high-quality development as the primary task; has treated digital/intelligent transformation as a matter of life and death; has insisted on risk prevention as an eternal theme; has regarded reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force; has treated talent as the first resource; and has regarded Fujian as the place where its roots lie.

Facing changes in the current economic environment, Industrial Bank is still exploring how to navigate economic cycles and create value in a more sustainable way.

The “15th Five-Year Plan Outline” places “building a modern industrial system” at the top of its strategic tasks. Standing on the new starting point of the “15th Five-Year Plan,” Industrial Bank said that serving the construction of a modern industrial system is both a matter of what must be done and an opportunity.

“Developing industrial finance is not only a development model, but also a development philosophy—simultaneous upgrading of the philosophy and the operating model.” Lv Jiajin said at the performance briefing.

Industrial Bank said that, centering on the construction of a modern industrial system, it will connect the government (G-end), enterprises (B-end), individuals (C-end), and financial institutions (F-end) across the entire value chain, and make efforts in a multidimensional way.

First, focus on leading players. We must integrate the urgency of “time waits for no one” into the wave of technological innovation and industrial innovation, and—on the basis of deepened research—advance more new industrial tracks. By capturing leading enterprises in key industries, we will drive growth in asset-related business and optimize its structure. It is understood that last year Industrial Bank sorted out 21 key industries, clarified a customer pedigree covering 1,800 customers, more than 2,000 core customers, and 175,000 small and midsize customers, established a target pool, and further expanded the group of core customers.

Second, promote integration. In the AI era, silicon-based life will take on a large portion of the work of carbon-based life. As long as you train an AI system with enterprise finance-related knowledge, including funds, retail, interbank, and so on, one person can play multiple roles. Developing industrial finance requires breaking the situation where lines are clearly separated and posts govern their own affairs. It will promote integrated development of various businesses and use AI to help relationship managers do this work.

Third, strengthen technology. Industrial finance greatly expands the boundaries of business. In the past, relationship managers fought “single-handedly” and “single-unit warfare.” Now, with technology support and data empowerment, Industrial Bank currently relies on a customer management system (CRM) to display information such as the regional distribution of industry and supply chain linkages, including details of core enterprises, helping branches precisely identify customers. In the next step, it will continue to strengthen the construction of the customer breakthrough building model and AI marketing model to achieve deeper understanding of customers and the market.

In his annual report speech, Industrial Bank President Chen Xinjian said that under the guidance of the national “15th Five-Year Plan,” the bank will continue to maintain strategic resolve and sharpen the edge for reform. It will adhere to making progress while ensuring stability, improve quality and efficiency, rejuvenate new momentum through industrial finance, enhance comprehensive service capability with a “commercial bank + investment bank” approach, connect the value hub with “asset management + wealth,” build the bottom line of safety with risk compliance and internal controls, and improve operating quality and efficiency through refined management and digital/intelligent empowerment, so as to fully advance the building of a first-class value bank to a new level.

With a strong wind and full sails, the sea stretches far and wide; at the turn of the tide, we row and ride the wave. As the grand blueprint for economic and social development of the “15th Five-Year Plan” is drawn, Industrial Bank’s new round of five-year development strategy has also been launched. How will its industrial finance strategy continue to lead Industrial Bank in creating new momentum? The market is waiting for the answer.

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