China Construction Bank set aside RMB130.03bn for credit impairment losses in the first half of 2026, up 20.79% from RMB107.65bn a year earlier. Over the same period its reported non-performing loan ratio slipped to 1.29% from 1.31% at the end of 2025. The two figures measure different things: one is the cost booked in the income statement, the other a share of the loan book.
Profit still grew
Net profit rose 5.56% to RMB171.68bn, and profit attributable to the bank's shareholders rose 4.62% to RMB169.56bn. Operating income was RMB426.33bn, up 10.48%. Net interest income rose 8.46% to RMB310.96bn, while net fee and commission income fell 1.42% to RMB64.29bn.
| Metric | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating income | 426,333 | 385,905 |
| Net interest income | 310,958 | 286,709 |
| Credit impairment losses | 130,028 | 107,652 |
| Net profit | 171,677 | 162,638 |
| Net interest margin (%) | 1.37 | 1.40 |
Margin: lower, but volume did the work
The net interest margin was 1.37%, against 1.40% in the first half of 2025 and 1.54% in the first half of 2024. The bank said the cost of interest-bearing liabilities fell faster than the yield on interest-bearing assets: 1.28% against 1.58% on the liability side, and 2.54% against 2.82% on the asset side. Loan yields fell to 2.68% from 2.96%. Balance growth added RMB25.50bn to net interest income and lower rates subtracted RMB1.25bn.
Other non-interest income rose 50.35% to RMB51.09bn. Investment securities gains reached RMB20.17bn from RMB11.69bn, and gains on derecognising amortised-cost financial assets were RMB18.32bn against RMB9.40bn, which the bank attributes mainly to bond disposals.
Credit quality: a lower ratio on a larger book
Impairment losses on loans to customers were RMB125.34bn against RMB115.06bn. The bank attributes the rise in total credit impairment mainly to a RMB10.28bn increase in loan charges. The NPL ratio fell to 1.29%, but the NPL balance rose RMB14.99bn from the end of 2025 to RMB378.98bn, and gross loans grew 5.65% to RMB29.34tn. Provisions covered 238.69% of bad loans, up from 233.15%.
The detail is mixed. Corporate NPLs eased to 1.46% from 1.53%, but the personal-loan ratio rose to 1.31% from 1.19%, with credit cards at 2.54% (from 2.36%) and mortgages at 0.98% (from 0.89%). Overdue loans reached RMB406.17bn, or 1.39% of the book against 1.33%, while special-mention loans held at 1.77%. The bank's migration-rate table shows 28.62% for special-mention loans against 14.98% at the end of 2025.
Capital: ratios down as risk-weighted assets grew
The common equity tier 1 ratio fell to 14.24% from 14.63%, the tier 1 ratio to 15.15% from 15.47%, and the total capital ratio to 19.42% from 19.69%. Risk-weighted assets rose to RMB25.13tn from RMB23.69tn. The bank says all ratios meet regulatory requirements. In the half it issued RMB30.0bn of perpetual capital bonds, RMB60.0bn of tier 2 capital bonds and RMB60.0bn of non-capital total loss-absorbing capacity bonds.
The board proposed an interim cash dividend of RMB52.58bn, or RMB2.010 per 10 shares, which goes to a shareholder meeting in the second half of 2026.