China Merchants Bank
China Merchants Bank was a clear outlier among its domestic banking peers in the mainland in the past year as its 3.0 business model took shape and produced solid results.
The model is one combining an extensive wealth management platform, digitally focused operations and an open and integrated organization – all in an attempt to become what it calls a "light-model bank". The idea is to not just focus on its own financials, but to manage customers’ financials in an agile and digitally driven way to create the best value.
The past three-plus years of emphasis on this pattern is now increasingly reflected in CMB’s results.
In 2021, CMB’s net operating income rose 14.17% year on year, to Rmb331.4 billion ($47.6 billion), with net profits attributable to shareholders jumping about 23% to Rmb119.9 billion. Return on average equity rose 1.23 percentage points to 16.96%.
CMB outperformed across other metrics too. By the end of 2021, total assets had soared 10.6% annually to Rmb9.2 trillion. Loans and advances, and total deposits, also rose, while the quality of the loan book held up, with a non-performing loan ratio of 0.91%,