Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | Banking Stocks Third Quarter Reports Successively Released, Multiple Banks' Performance Improved, Banking Industry Net Interest Margin May Stabilize (With Concept Stocks)

The curtain of the disclosure of the third quarter report of A-share listed banks in 2025 has been opened. Following Hua Xia Bank taking the lead, Bank Of Chongqing, Ping An Bank, and Wuxi Rural Commercial Bank have successively disclosed their third quarter reports. Overall, these 4 banks have achieved double growth in revenue and net profit, or have narrowed their decline, with improvements in asset quality. Next, many other listed banks such as Bank Of Nanjing, Bank Of Ningbo, and Bank Of China will also disclose their third quarter reports. Bank industry analysts expect that due to the narrowing of the year-on-year decline in net interest margin, the narrowing of the decline in net interest income, and the stable maintenance of asset quality, the overall revenue and net profit growth of the banking industry in the first three quarters of the year can still maintain positive growth trend and a stable posture. According to the financial reports, in the first three quarters of 2025, Hua Xia Bank's operating income was 64.881 billion yuan, an 8.79% decrease compared to the same period last year; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 17.982 billion yuan, a 2.86% year-on-year decrease. The narrowing of the decline compared to the first half of the year was 5.09 percentage points. The net interest margin was 1.55%, a 0.05 percentage point year-on-year decrease, and a narrower decline than in the first half of the year. In terms of revenue composition, fee and commission net income, investment income, exchange gain or loss, other operating income, asset disposal gain or loss, and other income all increased compared to the same period last year, while net interest income and fair value changes in income both decreased compared to the same period last year. In particular, fair value changes in income showed a significant decrease, from 3.326 billion yuan in the first three quarters of last year to -4.505 billion yuan in the first three quarters of this year, causing a significant drag on revenue. In the first three quarters of 2025, Bank Of Chongqing achieved operating income of 11.740 billion yuan, a 10.40% year-on-year increase; achieved a net profit of 5.196 billion yuan, a 10.42% year-on-year increase; operating and management expenses were 2.810 billion yuan, an increase of 253 million yuan compared to the same period last year, a 9.90% increase. The cost-to-income ratio was 23.93%, a decrease of 0.11 percentage points compared to the same period last year. From July to September, Bank Of Chongqing achieved operating income of 4.081 billion yuan, a 17.38% year-on-year increase; and achieved a net profit of 1.802 billion yuan, a 20.49% year-on-year increase. In the first three quarters of 2025, Ping An Bank achieved operating income of 100.668 billion yuan, a 9.8% year-on-year decrease; achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 38.339 billion yuan, a 3.5% year-on-year decrease. Behind the gradually stabilizing performance is the bank's strengthening of low-cost deposit absorption and reducing overall liability costs. From January to September, the average interest-bearing liability pay rate was 1.73%, a 47 basis point decrease compared to the same period last year; the average deposit absorption pay rate was 1.70%, a 43 basis point decrease compared to the same period last year. It is reported that 10 banks have received shareholder and executive increases for the year, including Bank Of Suzhou, Bank Of Nanjing, Bank Of Chengdu, Bank Of Chongqing, Bank of Shanghai, China Everbright Bank, Bank Of Lanzhou, Postal Savings Bank Of China, Wuxi Rural Commercial Bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. In addition, funds and insurance companies have shown high enthusiasm for bank stocks this year. China Merchants Bank, Postal Savings Bank Of China, Bank Of Zhengzhou, Agricultural Bank Of China, CITIC BANK, Bank Of Hangzhou, and China Zheshang Bank have all been acquired by insurance companies. "In the background of stable macroeconomics, easing monetary policy, and gradually releasing interest margin pressure, the improvement of bank performance is expected to enhance, and executives and major shareholders are seizing future dividends by increasing their holdings." Professional analysts believe that the frequent increases in bank holdings reflect the combined effect of industry stabilization and favorable policy expectations, as well as the firm belief of corporate governance in the long-term value of enterprises. Guotai Haitong predicts that the cumulative revenue and net profit of listed banks in the first three quarters of 2025 will increase by 0.4% and 1.1% year-on-year respectively, with an increase in growth compared to the mid-term report, mainly due to the narrowing of the year-on-year decline in net interest margins and the profit release space brought by the decline in credit costs. Among them, city commercial banks are expected to lead in performance growth, while the net profit growth of large state-owned banks is likely to turn positive. Zhongtai believes that there is a possibility of stabilizing net interest margins in the banking industry in the third quarter: first, the pressure of asset-side repricing in the third quarter has reduced; second, after the implementation of the monetary policy in May, the decrease in deposit interest rates is greater than the decrease in LPR (loan market quoted rate), which supports interest margins. Calculations show that in the third and fourth quarters of 2025 for A-share listed banks, the quarter-on-quarter net interest margin will increase by 0.7 basis points and 0.3 basis points respectively, remaining relatively stable quarter-on-quarter. Zhongtai stated that banking stocks have shifted from a "boom cycle" to a "weak cycle," and is optimistic about the stability and continuity of the sector. In the current environment, from the perspective of both growth and defense, it is recommended to focus on city commercial banks with growth potential and low valuations. Related concept stocks: China Merchants Bank (03968): Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that the A-share and H-share banks rated by the bank have recorded absolute returns of 12% and 21% year-to-date respectively, which they believe is not due to investors' preference for dividend returns, but mainly driven by fundamental improvements in various banks, including stabilizing asset quality and narrowing net interest margin declines. Goldman Sachs believes that large state-owned banks and China Merchants Bank (03968) are more likely than other peers to achieve sustainable recovery of net interest margins, thus having greater potential for shareholder returns. Postal Savings Bank Of China (01658): According to the latest equity disclosure data from the HKEX, on October 10, 2025, Postal Savings Bank Of China (01658) received Ping An Insurance's in-house group's increase of 6.416 million shares at an average price of 5.3638 Hong Kong dollars per share, involving approximately 34.141 million Hong Kong dollars. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (01398): Morgan Stanley recently stated that they believe that the stock price of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will rise in the next 60 days, with a probability of about 70% to 80% (highly likely). Morgan Stanley expects ICBC to achieve another quarter of profit growth in the third quarter of this year, and the 6.1% dividend yield provides an attractive return opportunity. Morgan Stanley rates it as "Overweight" with a target price of 7.6 Hong Kong dollars. Agricultural Bank Of China (01288): According to the latest data from the HKEX, on October 16, Ping An Asset Management Co., Ltd. increased its holdings of Agricultural Bank Of China (01288) by 6.531 million shares, with each share priced at 5.5267 Hong Kong dollars, totaling approximately 36.0949 million Hong Kong dollars. After the increase, the latest number of holdings is approximately 6.152 billion shares, with a shareholding ratio of 20.01%.