- Lender maintains sub-1% bad loan ratio for 19th straight year
- Wealth and fee businesses help offset margin pressure
Bank of Ningbo (宁波银行) reported double-digit growth in both profit and revenue for the first quarter of 2026, buoyed by strong fee income and steady asset quality.
Net profit attributable to shareholders rose 10.3% year-on-year to 8.18 billion yuan ($1.19 billion) in the three months ended March, while operating income increased 10.2% to 20.38 billion yuan, according to results released on April 24.
Net interest income climbed 14.4% to 14.69 billion yuan, while net fee and commission income jumped 81.7% to 2.58 billion yuan, highlighting a sharp acceleration in non-interest revenue.
Asset quality remained stable. The non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.76% at the end of March, unchanged from the start of the year.
The provision coverage ratio reached 369.39%, with a loan-to-provision ratio of 2.80%, indicating a solid buffer against potential risks.
Since its 2007 listing on China’s A-share market, the bank has maintained one of the lowest bad loan ratios among listed lenders, remaining below 1% for 19 consecutive years.
As one of China’s largest city commercial banks, Bank of Ningbo has pursued a dual-engine growth model. Interest income, anchored by corporate lending, remains its core earnings base, accounting for 73.87% of revenue in 2025, or 53.16 billion yuan.
At the same time, non-interest businesses such as wealth management and custody services have expanded rapidly.
Net fee and commission income reached 6.09 billion yuan in 2025, up more than 30%, helping offset pressure from narrowing interest margins and supporting a shift toward a lighter capital model.
Based on 2025 annual filings of A-share listed companies, the bank ranked as Zhejiang’s most profitable listed firm for the seventh consecutive year, with 29.33 billion yuan in net profit.
It was followed by Bank of Hangzhou (19.03 billion yuan), Hikvision (14.19 billion yuan) and China Zheshang Bank (12.93 billion yuan).
