CITIC Bank NIM at 1.62% in H1, 21 bps Above Industry Average
CITIC Bank reported a net interest margin of 1.62% for the first half of 2026, 21 basis points above the industry average and down 1 basis point year on year. The bank plans to expand general loans and long-term credit to ease margin pressure, while its strategic emerging industry loan balance reached 780.7 billion yuan.
CITIC Bank announced at its 2026 interim results briefing that its net interest margin (NIM) for the first half of 2026 stood at 1.62%, 21 basis points higher than the industry average. This represented an increase of 1 basis point from the first quarter and a decrease of 1 basis point year on year. In 2025, the bank's NIM declined by 14 basis points.
During the first half, the concentrated maturity of three-year high-cost deposits helped lower funding costs, but loan pricing on the asset side continued to face downward pressure.
To address NIM pressure, the bank plans to increase general loan disbursements, raise the share of medium- and long-term loans, and mitigate yield declines by extending loan duration. It also aims to support steady growth in low-cost settlement deposits.
Vice President Xie Zhibin said that the repurchase and retention rates of funds from three-year deposits maturing in the first half were broadly in line with 2025 levels, adding that deposits remain a core asset for household wealth allocation.
Another Vice President, Gu Lingyun, noted that as of the end of the first half, the bank's medium- and long-term corporate credit disbursements reached 113.1 billion yuan, with corresponding asset reserves of approximately 500 billion yuan. Loans to strategic emerging and future industries totaled 780.7 billion yuan, an increase of 82.3 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, accounting for 36% of total incremental credit.