Vice President of Bank of Communications: Looking ahead for the year, the net interest margin is expected to be able to maintain a stable and improving trend.

On March 27, Zhou Wanfu, the deputy governor of Bank of Communications, said at the Bank of Communications 2025 performance briefing that, based on the bank’s situation, the amount of time deposits coming due this year has grown noticeably compared with last year. Among that, a relatively large share is concentrated in the first quarter. Therefore, we expect that the full-year net interest margin will remain stable and show an improving trend.

He said that the support conditions for the net interest margin are, first, the impact of re-pricing deposits; and second, that the constraints of the current pricing self-discipline mechanism have become noticeably stronger, and the role of regulating financial competition and order is beginning to show effectiveness. This has an effective role in keeping the loan or asset-side pricing floor and in capping the deposit and other liability-side pricing upper limit.

Zhou Wanfu said that since last year, Bank of Communications has achieved overall basic stability in the net interest margin through efforts on multiple fronts. Looking at the situation in the new year, there is still downward pressure on loan interest rates. Meanwhile, re-pricing on the liability side will also bring some new positives.

When asked how to work to keep the net interest margin stable, Zhou Wanfu said: first, to strictly manage the volume-and-price balance of deposits and loans, and to ensure that each business line and each operating unit bears responsibility for balanced development in both volume and price. Second, to implement deposit and loan pricing management in a more refined way, and to strictly comply with the requirements of the pricing self-discipline mechanism. Third, to scientifically optimize and arrange the balance sheet’s asset-liability structure.