China’s Big Banks Post Flat 2025 Profit on Margin Squeeze

China’s largest state-owned lenders reported flat earnings for 2025, as the industry grapples with government mandates to support a cooling economy and a protracted squeeze on profit margins.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the world’s largest lender by assets, said net income rose 0.7% to 368.6 billion yuan ($53.3 billion) last year, according to a stock exchange filing Friday. Profit at China Construction Bank Corp. gained 1%, while Bank of Communications Co. posted a 2.2% increase.