China Merchants Bank Co (CIHHF) Q3 2026 Earnings Report

The call was broadly constructive. CMB reported steady revenue and profit growth, strong capital and return metrics, expanding wealth management and corporate banking businesses, improving AI-enabled productivity, and stable overall asset quality. These positives were tempered by weak retail loan demand, ongoing NIM and loan-pricing pressure, higher retail credit risk and provisions, moderating fee growth, and low bond-market yields. Management nevertheless expressed confidence in maintaining stable, high-quality growth and strengthening long-term growth drivers.

Management said that for next year, asset and liability management quality is more important and “the growth rate will lower down,” with loan growth “to lowering down the growth rate of the loan side” as “a new norm,” while NIM will “continue to face downward pressure”; the goal is a “narrowing down of the decrease of the NIM” and keeping its absolute amount at a “bank industry leading level,” with the “magnitude of decline” expected to be “better than year-on-year,” although “we cannot say it has already been stabilized.” Management expects customer and AUM growth to remain solid, asset quality to remain sound, and “progressive and stable performance next year,” supported by wealth management, cross-border financing and intelligent bank initiatives; current indicators included first 3 quarters net operating income of CNY 264.76 billion, up 5.37% year-on-year, net profit of CNY 116.476 billion, up 2.38%, ROAA of 1.16%, ROAE of 13.49%, NIM of 1.82%, retail AUM of CNY 18.71 trillion, up 9.52%, and an NPL ratio of 0.94%.