The semi-annual reports disclosed by listed banks show that the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy have steadily improved, especially with continuous enhancement of financial supply to key areas and weak links such as manufacturing and agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Heads of several listed banks stated that in the first half of this year, commercial banks helped serve the high-quality development of the real economy, efficiently coordinated scale, structure, efficiency, and risk, and maintained stable and orderly overall operations.

　　　Credit support grows in volume while prices decline

　　Judging from the scale of credit supply by listed banks serving the real economy, support for major strategies, key areas, and weak links has continued to be strengthened.

　　Overall, in the first half of this year, listed banks maintained a reasonable pace of loan disbursement, with steady growth in total volume, more effectively supporting the real economy. In the first half of this year, China Construction Bank's loans to manufacturing amounted to 3.05 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.79%; loans to private enterprises reached 5.87 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.74%; and loans to strategic emerging industries totaled 2.72 trillion yuan, an increase of 21.19%. In the first half of the year, domestic branches of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased RMB loans by 1.74 trillion yuan, up 7.1%. As of the end of June, Agricultural Bank of China's total loans reached 24.4 trillion yuan, with new loans of 1.77 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, well meeting the effective credit demand of the real economy.

　　Listed banks continued to make concessions to the real economy. A report from the People's Bank of China shows that loan interest rates have stabilized with a slight decline. In June, the one-year and five-year-or-longer loan prime rates (LPR) stood at 3.45% and 3.95% respectively, flat and down 0.25 percentage points compared with December of the previous year.

　　Wang Zhiheng, President of Agricultural Bank of China, stated that in the first half of the year, ABC's net interest margin was 1.45%, a phased recovery of 1 basis point from the first quarter. Mainly affected by the asset side, LPR cuts, adjustments to mortgage rate policies, and proactive concessions to the real economy, the loan interest income rate of the banking industry continued its downward trend. ABC's changes were consistent with comparable peers, but the decline improved year-on-year. The main reason is that ABC focused on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, county areas, and the five major articles, deeply explored real economy demand, and intensified credit structure optimization, with the contribution of credit volume growth and structural optimization to net interest margin further enhanced.

　　Liao Yuanyuan, Director of the Statistics and Risk Monitoring Department of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that maintaining a reasonable profit level is of great significance for banks to replenish capital in a timely manner, maintain stable operations, and enhance their ability to serve the real economy. Facing the pressure of slowing profit growth, in recent years commercial banks have tapped internal potential and reduced costs and increased efficiency through various means.

　　This year, commercial banks intensively lowered deposit rates to stabilize net interest margin levels. Wang Zhiheng stated that against the backdrop of increasing financial support for the real economy and promoting a steady decline in comprehensive social financing costs, the loan interest income rate still faces downward pressure. Coupled with the overall low-level operation of bond market interest rates, the asset-side interest income rate will remain under pressure. ABC will strive to achieve reasonable growth in credit scale and continuous optimization of structure and quality.

　　　　Service innovation accelerates

　　In the first half of the year, listed banks increased support for science and technology finance, actively served the development of new quality productive forces, and continuously improved the precision and adaptability of services to the real economy.

　　In terms of science and technology finance, China Construction Bank actively provided strong support for achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and accelerated financial empowerment of the real economy. Heju Polymer Materials Technology (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. is a provincial-level "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" small and medium-sized enterprise mainly engaged in the manufacture of synthetic materials, holding 15 invention patents. Its developed products are mainly used in the automotive and optoelectronics fields and have considerable market competitive advantages. However, because the company is still in its early stage of development, it has long found it difficult to obtain financing from financial institutions.

　　Upon learning of the situation, the Guangdong Foshan Branch of China Construction Bank quickly formed a service team, conducted qualification review through the multi-dimensional evaluation system for technology enterprises pioneered by the Guangdong Provincial Branch, fully leveraged the advantages of the "Shanxin Loan" pure credit, fully online product, and successfully provided 8.1 million yuan in funding support. This loan meets the application conditions of the People's Bank of China's re-lending for scientific and technological innovation and technological upgrading, and the company can subsequently enjoy fiscal interest subsidies, effectively resolving its funding shortage.

　　Many banks have continuously innovated financing models, channeling financial resources to high-quality technology enterprises and accelerating the development of science and technology finance. Agricultural Bank of China focused on cultivating and developing new quality productive forces and improving its science and technology financial service system. The balance of loans to high-tech manufacturing reached 715 billion yuan, an increase of 58.1 billion yuan. Bank of China continuously improved its science and technology financial service mechanism, established science and technology finance centers at the head office and branches, quickly responded to customer and market needs, provided 1.71 trillion yuan in credit support to 83,500 technology enterprises, and cumulatively supplied more than 650 billion yuan in comprehensive services.

　　At the local level, the "government-bank-enterprise" linkage mechanism actively played its role, continuously injecting "financial resources" into enterprise development. For example, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, actively leveraged the credit advantages of state-owned capital and guided state-owned enterprises to make good use of "financial resources" through multiple measures. Yichun State Investment Group and the Jiangxi Modern Industry Guidance Fund managed by Jiangxi Provincial State Holding Group and others jointly initiated and established the Yichun Modern Industry Guidance Fund, with a total scale of 10 billion yuan, focusing on the city's emerging industries, "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" enterprises, the "869" action plan, and other key industrial projects.

　　At the same time, Yichun Venture Capital Company continuously optimized its market-oriented investment mechanism, fully utilized the investment attraction role of industrial funds, and built a "trinity" industrial finance ecosystem of industrial projects, fund investment, and bank credit. It reached 7 "government-bank-enterprise" strategic cooperation framework agreements, 6 investment-loan linkage credit intention agreements, and 7 intended investment project investment intention agreements, with "government-bank-enterprise" credit intentions exceeding 10 billion yuan and investment-loan linkage cooperation intentions exceeding 20 billion yuan, contributing to the formation of a sound development pattern of "10-billion-yuan funds, 10-billion-yuan credit" supporting "100-billion-yuan industries and 100-billion-yuan parks."

　　Zhang Xiaodong, Vice President of Bank of China, stated that it is necessary to provide a full-chain, full-lifecycle, diversified relay-style financial service matrix and create exclusive credit approval processes and credit evaluation models suited to the characteristics of technology enterprises.

　　　　Strengthening risk resilience

　　Semi-annual report data show that the main operating indicators and regulatory indicators of listed banks are within healthy and reasonable ranges, and risk resilience continues to strengthen. Relevant heads of several listed banks stated that they adhere to risk prevention as an eternal theme, focus on resolving credit risks in key areas such as real estate, and increase the disposal of non-performing assets.

　　The non-performing loan ratio of listed banks has been reduced, providing strong support for the sustainable development of the real economy. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's non-performing loan ratio was 1.35%, down 0.01 percentage points from the beginning of this year. Agricultural Bank of China's non-performing loan ratio was 1.32%, down 0.01 percentage points from the end of 2023. Bank of China's non-performing loan ratio was 1.24%, down 0.03 percentage points from the end of 2023. China Construction Bank's non-performing loan ratio fell 0.02 percentage points from the end of 2023 to 1.35%.

　　Overall, the main regulatory indicators of the banking industry in the second quarter show that the banking industry's asset quality is stable and risk compensation capacity is sufficient. At the end of the second quarter, the balance of commercial banks' non-performing loans was 3.3 trillion yuan, a decrease of 27.2 billion yuan from the end of the previous quarter; the non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks was 1.56%, down 0.03 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter. At the end of the second quarter, the balance of commercial banks' loan loss provisions was 7 trillion yuan, an increase of 104 billion yuan from the end of the previous quarter.

　　Xiao Yuanqi, Vice Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that the banking industry's asset quality remains stable, and the non-performing loan ratio has stabilized with a slight decline. Since the beginning of this year, credit risk has been generally controllable. The intensity of non-performing asset disposal has also further increased; in the first half of this year, banks disposed of 1.4 trillion yuan in non-performing assets. Risk compensation capacity has steadily increased.

　　Li Jianjiang, Vice President of China Construction Bank, stated that from the perspective of key areas, in real estate, CCB solidly carried out work on ensuring housing delivery and the real estate financing coordination mechanism, intensified efforts to prevent and resolve risks, and various measures took effect. In the first half of the year, both the amount and ratio of non-performing real estate loans declined, with the non-performing ratio down 0.44 percentage points from the end of the previous year, and non-performing exposures also decreased year-on-year.

　　In the first half of the year, listed banks effectively balanced speed and quality, efficiency and risk, and overall operating performance improved. Several listed banks adopted a series of measures to significantly improve the precision of risk control and promote risk convergence.

　　"In terms of risk management, we have continued to maintain a proactive, forward-looking, prudent, and strict management posture, continuously improved the group's integrated prevention and control system, achieved effective risk control measures and sufficient risk compensation capacity, with the provision coverage ratio reaching 238.75% at the end of June. We closely monitor and resolve risks in key areas, strengthen coordination between the first and second lines of defense in risk control, reinforce penetrating management and control, improve the intelligent risk control system, and continuously enhance the quality and efficiency of non-performing asset disposal," said Li Jianjiang.

　　"In the second half of the year, we will continue to adhere to a prudent and稳健 risk appetite, coordinate an effective balance between development and risk, effectively serve the real economy, and continuously build a solid business and customer base," said Yao Hong, Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Postal Savings Bank of China. In terms of risk control strategy, we will adhere to a problem-oriented approach, fine management, and precise measures, continuously improve the credit risk control mechanism, and effectively prevent the impact of various risks.