Lu Wei, President of China CITIC Bank: The industry's net interest margin decline may gradually slow down.

On August 28, during the press conference for China CITIC Bank's 2025 interim performance, President Lu Wei answered questions from reporters about the trend of interest spreads, stating that based on the bank's analysis and observation, the downward trend of the banking industry's net interest spread is expected to gradually slow down. Lu Wei mentioned that in a environment of declining interest rates, there is still pressure for interest spreads to narrow. Currently, asset prices are still operating at low levels, and the high-yield assets are mainly from investments made in previous years with relatively high pricing. As these loans gradually mature and are replaced, it will continue to drive down the bank's asset yield, leading to continued downward pressure on interest spreads. However, the "anti-inner loop" policy and the interest-neutral monetary policy will gradually stabilize the banking industry's net interest spread.