Breaking through the traditional "Three Sheets" constraints, the six major state-owned banks continue to see high growth in technology loans

Xie Zhongxiang, Securities Times reporter

In recent days, listed banks have 集中披露 their 2025 annual reports. The six state-owned major banks have continued to strengthen their position as the main force in technology and finance. By the end of 2025, the combined balance of technology loans from the six state-owned banks has exceeded the 23.3 trillion yuan mark, with year-over-year growth rates generally staying at 15% or above.

Stepping up credit deployment along the AI industrial chain

With their advantages in total asset scale, the six state-owned banks have continued to maintain an absolute leading position in the balance of technology loans, and their growth rates are also notably strong.

At an earnings release conference, the management of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) disclosed that by the end of 2025, its balance of technology loans was the first to break through the 6 trillion yuan level, up nearly 1 trillion yuan from the beginning of the year. The year-over-year growth rate reached 19.9%, and the balance of technology-loan funds continued to rank first among peers. In particular, the balance of loans to strategic emerging industries surpassed 4 trillion yuan.

As of the end of 2025, China Construction Bank’s (CCB) balance of technology loans was 5.25 trillion yuan, with an increase of 18.91%. Of this, the balance of loans to strategic emerging industries was 3.52 trillion yuan, up 23.46%. According to the disclosures, CCB will focus on emerging industries and future industries such as semiconductors, advanced equipment manufacturing, next-generation information technology, industrial gases, and new energy.

As of the end of 2025, the balance of technology loans at Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) was 4.7 trillion yuan, up 20.1% from the end of the prior year; ABC has connected with more than 350k technology-based enterprises. On the one hand, ABC focuses on a modern industrial system and new-quality productive forces industries; on the other hand, it highlights agricultural technology characteristics—supporting leading agricultural technology enterprises by serving seed industry revitalization, agricultural parks, agricultural machinery and equipment, and other areas.

As of the end of 2025, the balance of technology loans at Bank of China (BOC) surpassed 4.82 trillion yuan, up 18.78% year over year. The total number of credit-granted customers exceeded 170k. Among them, the coverage rate for credit granted to technology-based enterprises and the increase in customers both remain at leading levels in the market. BOC also became the first to issue an action plan to support the development of the artificial intelligence industrial chain. It has established cooperation with nearly 4,500 core companies in the AI industrial chain, and in the next five years plans to provide not less than 1 trillion yuan in special comprehensive financial support to that industrial chain.

As of the end of 2025, the balance of technology loans at Bank of Communications was 1.58 trillion yuan, up 10.73% from the end of the prior year. Loans to “specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative” SMEs and loans to technology-based SMEs grew 21.02% and 36.29%, respectively, from the end of the prior year. Building on its Shanghai base, Bank of Communications focuses on three leading sectors: integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence.

As of the end of 2025, the balance of technology loans at Postal Savings Bank of China exceeded 950 billion yuan, up more than 13% from the end of the prior year. It serves more than 100k technology-based enterprise customers; loans to technology-based SMEs account for a share of technology loans that ranks near the top among state-owned banks.

Overall, through continued credit deployment, the six major banks have intensified their support for technological innovation, with their total loan balance increasing by more than 3.6 trillion yuan compared with the end of 2024. While maintaining growth in overall scale, each bank has also increased precise “drip-by-drip” financing toward strategic emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and new energy. The differentiated characteristics of their industrial layouts have become increasingly prominent.

Building a “technology-flow” evaluation system

In addition to scale expansion, the state-owned banks have also significantly improved the precision and professionalism of their service to technology-based enterprises. They have generally set up a full-lifecycle service system covering the entire journey from the enterprise’s start-up stage, growth stage, and maturity stage through to going public. They also address the financing difficulties of “light assets and no collateral” through the construction of specialized institutions and digital risk-control measures. In terms of organizational structure, the state-owned banks have generally established a multi-tier technology-finance service system of “head office—branch—sub-branch—specialized outlets.”

Among them, ICBC has set up 25 technology-finance centers at branches and 160 technology sub-branches; ABC has set up 25 technology-finance service centers and more than 300 technology-focused sub-branches; BOC has, in 24 provinces and municipalities with concentrated tech-innovation resources such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, established technology-finance centers and 275 technology-finance outlets; Bank of Communications’ number of technology sub-branches and technology-feature sub-branches has exceeded 100; Postal Savings Bank of China has, in six first-tier branches including Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu, established technology-finance business departments, and has built more than 100 technology-finance featured sub-branches and featured outlets.

On service models, the six major banks have rolled out proprietary credit products and evaluation models, breaking the constraints of the traditional “three statements.” CCB has built a “technology-flow” innovation-and-technology evaluation system, introducing intellectual property, technical capability, and information about entrepreneurs as the fourth “statement”—the technology innovation statement—to help enterprises achieve the “creditification” and “digitalization” of intellectual property.

Postal Savings Bank has promoted and applied the “technology-flow” evaluation system; for “technology-flow” evaluation customers, the credit-granted underwriting amount exceeds 233k. It also advances the building of the “KeChuang YunTu” (science-and-innovation map) panoramic evaluation platform for technology-based enterprises. Bank of Communications independently developed a “1+N” evaluation model for technology-based enterprises, scoring enterprises’ technology innovation capabilities across five dimensions: human capital, R&D capability, social recognition, operating outcomes, and industry standing.

In addition, in response to technology firms’ full-lifecycle needs, each bank has launched differentiated product matrices. For example, ICBC has launched scenario-based featured products such as “Research & Development Loans,” “Innovation Points Loans,” and “Special Loans for Disruptive Technology Innovation.” CCB offers “Shanxin Loan” and “Shanke Loan” for start-up-stage enterprises, and provides products with different characteristics for growth-stage and mature-stage enterprises. ABC, meanwhile, has created a full-lifecycle service solution called “Nongyin Chuangda.”

AIC equity investment and M&A lending ramp up together

Another major trend highlighted by 2025 annual reports is that major banks holding Financial Asset Investment Company (AIC) licenses are accelerating the building of a financing support system that integrates equity and debt financing through multiple linkages. Through policy opportunities such as expanding the AIC equity investment pilot, underwriting science-and-technology innovation bonds, and piloting M&A loans for technology enterprises, they are creating a new paradigm of “an integrated model of investing and lending.”

As of the end of last year, ICBC, through ICBC Investment, had established 48 AIC equity investment pilot funds with a subscribed amount of 108.4 billion yuan. CCB had cumulatively set up 28 AIC equity investment pilot funds, with outstanding equity investment in technology-based enterprises exceeding 90 billion yuan. Both banks achieved full coverage of cooperation with first-batch pilot cities’ funds.

BOC’s subsidiary BOC Assets has set up 28 AIC equity investment funds, while BOC Securities has set up 10 science-and-technology innovation mother funds, and has implemented flagship projects in commercial aerospace, biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, and other fields.

Worth noting is that the pilot policy for technology enterprise M&A loans was fully rolled out in 2025. CCB will treat M&A businesses as an important lever for technology finance, promoting that M&A-related technology loans account for nearly 70% of all新增 incremental loan growth in M&A loans. BOC, through “M&A loans + M&A advisory + equity investment,” has built an integrated service model covering both commercial and investment banking.

Based on annual report data, state-owned banks’ technology-finance businesses have already shown a diversified pattern of “a solid credit fundamentals base, accelerating equity-investing-and-lending integration, expanding bond underwriting, and breakthrough progress in M&A services.” As the AIC team expands to achieve full coverage across six state-owned major banks and the pilot for technology enterprise M&A loans deepens, commercial banks’ capacity to supply “patient capital” has been significantly strengthened, providing stronger financial support for the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation.

(Editor: Dong Pingping)

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