Total assets exceed 2 trillion, Huishang Bank's position as "the largest bank in Central and Western China" is secured

The largest city commercial bank in the Midwest, Huishang Bank, recently announced its performance.

On April 24, Huishang Bank released an announcement stating that it achieved a net profit of 4.775 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 3.87%; by the end of the first quarter, total assets reached 2.11 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.65%.

Previously, at the end of March, the bank released its 2024 annual performance report. The annual report showed that by the end of last year, the bank's total assets had surpassed 2 trillion yuan for the first time, and the performance in the first quarter further solidified this achievement.

In the context of a continuously declining net interest margin, Huishang Bank continued to expand its deposit and loan scale, with the loan balance exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the first time by the end of 2024.

On the non-interest income side, Huishang Bank focused on financial investments, with net income surging by 245.65%.

Overall, Huishang Bank delivered a relatively satisfactory report card in the challenging year of 2024.

Revenue and Net Profit Both Increase

The annual report shows that in 2024, Huishang Bank's operating income was 37.128 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.10%; net profit reached 15.917 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.18%.

Although its performance is not outstanding compared to peers, for Huishang Bank itself, a year-on-year growth rate of 2.10% may be a positive signal of a rebound in its performance.

Looking back, it can be seen that since 2022, Huishang Bank's revenue growth has clearly entered an adjustment period.

In that year, the bank's revenue performance changed from the strong year-on-year growth of 10% in the previous year (2021), with the growth rate plummeting to 2.02%. In 2023, revenue growth almost stagnated, with the growth rate further decreasing to 0.37%.

In 2023, when the entire industry performed well, Huishang Bank was the first to show signs of revenue adjustment.

However, looking back now, this may have been a forward-looking adjustment arrangement. While peers made various efforts for revenue and net profit growth in 2024, Huishang Bank achieved simultaneous growth in revenue and profit against the trend.

Among them, the bank's basic earnings per share reached 1.05 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.00%, which is quite good.

Asset Scale Stabilizes at 2 Trillion Yuan

Another positive signal in the annual report is the continuous expansion of asset scale. The bank's net interest income is a "scale" business, and continuous asset expansion is a pointer for the company's business development.

The 2024 annual report shows that by the end of the year, Huishang Bank's total assets reached 2.01 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.49%. The bank's asset scale has surpassed 2 trillion yuan for the first time, firmly occupying its position as a major bank in the Midwest and making it the first city commercial bank in the Midwest with an asset scale exceeding 2 trillion yuan.

The announcement released on April 24 shows that by the end of the first quarter of 2025, the total assets of the bank reached 2.11 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.57% compared to the end of the previous year, further solidifying its position above the 2 trillion yuan mark.

In terms of asset size, Huishang Bank ranks seventh among the listed city commercial banks in China.

"Increasing Volume to Compensate for Price," Interest Income Still Decreases

Of course, a closer look at the performance of interest income reveals many insights.

For instance, by the end of 2024, the total amount of customer loans and advances at Huishang Bank reached 1.00 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.64%. The total deposits reached 1.14 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.65%.

As of the end of last year, the bank had achieved double-digit growth in both deposits and loans for several consecutive years.

However, the growth rate of the credit scale has not been able to offset the decrease caused by interest rate changes. In 2024, the bank's net interest income was 28.591 billion yuan, a decrease of 129 million yuan year-on-year, a decline of 0.45%.

Additionally, Huishang Bank's net interest margin for 2024 was 1.49%, and the net interest yield was 1.71%, both down 16 basis points and 17 basis points year-on-year, which is neither too much nor too little compared to its peers.

While expanding its asset scale, the bank's total non-performing loans in 2024 amounted to 9.876 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.40%; the non-performing loan ratio was 0.99%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.27 percentage points, which overall reflects positive performance.

Financial Investment Net Income Soars by 245.65%

If there is a highlight, comparatively, the performance of non-interest net income is much more impressive.

The annual report shows that Huishang Bank's financial investment income surged significantly in 2024. The bank achieved a net income from financial investments of 2.105 billion yuan, an increase of 1.496 billion yuan year-on-year, a growth of 245.65%.

However, the bank's trading net income in 2024 decreased by 10.58% year-on-year, amounting to 3.220 billion yuan, with the annual report indicating that the main reason was the reduction in net income from interest rate products.

Although the net income from fees and commissions slightly increased to 2.849 billion yuan, this was mainly due to a decrease in fees and commissions expenses.

6 Years of A-Share Listing Guidance Yet to Succeed

The annual report also mentioned Huishang Bank's plan to return to A-share listing.

On June 30, 2019, the shareholders' meeting of Huishang Bank reviewed and approved the A-share issuance proposal, and entered the A-share listing guidance filing stage on September 29 of the same year.

However, the guidance has lasted for 21 sessions, nearly 6 years. The annual report also cautioned that "the A-share issuance may not necessarily be completed."

Bank stocks have much greater liquidity and financing space in the A-share market, in contrast, the quiet trading of Huishang Bank's Hong Kong stocks (as shown in the chart below, on April 28, 2024, Huishang Bank's total trading volume was less than 4 million Hong Kong dollars) is indeed regrettable.

When will this important process make progress, which is particularly noteworthy?