China CITIC Bank Just Crossed Into the "10 Trillion" Milestone, Followed by Key Personnel Changes

Listing | Zhongfang.com

Review | Li Xiaoyan

CITIC Bank, which has entered the “100 Trillion Yuan Asset Club,” is steadily improving management efficiency and operational quality through orderly leadership iteration, writing a new chapter of high-quality development for joint-stock banks. Recently, media reports indicated that Zhao Yuanxin, General Manager of the Credit Execution Department, was promoted to the bank’s Party Committee member. According to industry practice, after completing regulatory and corporate governance procedures, he is expected to be appointed Vice President. This personnel adjustment is a key move in building the management team after the bank reached the trillion-yuan scale, demonstrating the maturity of its talent development system and injecting new momentum into the implementation of strategic goals and risk management.

Zhao Yuanxin’s promotion exemplifies CITIC Bank’s talent selection logic of “from front line to headquarters, from regional to global.” His background shows early service in the People’s Bank system, with solid expertise in financial regulation and policy understanding. After joining CITIC Bank, he gained experience leading core branches in multiple regions, managing Nanchang, Suzhou, and Shanghai, accumulating rich regional management, customer service, and team leadership experience. From 2022 to the end of 2025, Zhao served as President of the Shanghai Branch. As of June 2025, the branch’s assets reached 619.609 billion yuan, ranking third among the bank’s branches, only behind Beijing and Hangzhou, serving as a core support point for CITIC Bank’s Yangtze River Delta integration strategy. Notably, current Vice Presidents Hu Gang and He Jinsong previously served as Shanghai Branch Presidents, making this position a vital talent pool for senior management, further recognizing Zhao Yuanxin’s operational ability and management potential.

In December 2025, Zhao Yuanxin succeeded Jin Xinian as General Manager of the Bank’s Credit Execution Department. Jin Xinian focused on fulfilling roles as Party Committee member, Vice President, and Risk Director, ensuring clear responsibilities and authority in risk management. His promotion to Party Committee member marks his transition from regional management to the decision-making core of the bank, integrating branch operational experience with credit management and risk control at the head office, further strengthening the bank’s governance of “business expansion and risk prevention.”

Since the second half of 2025, CITIC Bank has experienced intensive and orderly personnel adjustments at the senior level: Vice President Zeng Yufang of the Credit Card Center and Zhang Xuqing, President of Xiamen Branch, have received approval for their appointments. The management team continues to optimize through coordinated roles across headquarters, branches, front-office, and middle-office functions. In December 2025, President Lu Wei was transferred to Postal Savings Bank due to work adjustments, with Chairman Fang Heying acting as interim president. The bank maintained smooth operational transition without decision-making gaps or business fluctuations, demonstrating mature governance resilience and team stability. As a veteran with 26 years at CITIC, Lu Wei has made significant contributions in finance, capital replenishment, and international expansion. His smooth handover creates favorable conditions for the new management team to continue efforts. Currently, CITIC Bank’s senior management includes Vice Presidents Hu Gang, Xie Zhibin, Gu Lingyun, He Jinsong, Jin Xinian, Business Director Lu Jingen, and Board Secretary Zhang Qing. With Zhao Yuanxin joining the Party Committee, the management structure is more complete, decision-making and execution capabilities are further enhanced, providing solid organizational support for meticulous management at the trillion-yuan scale.

The 2025 performance quick report shows that CITIC Bank’s total assets surpassed 10 trillion yuan, reaching 101,316.58 billion yuan, a 6.28% increase from the end of the previous year, officially entering the “10 Trillion Yuan Club” of domestic banks. It is the fourth nationwide joint-stock bank to achieve this milestone after China Merchants Bank, Industrial Bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. This breakthrough is not merely about scale expansion but a result of the bank’s strategic focus on “value banking,” deepening its real economy support, and optimizing asset structure. In terms of profitability, CITIC Bank achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 70.618 billion yuan in 2025, up 2.98% year-on-year, maintaining positive growth for consecutive years. Despite narrowing interest margins and intensified market competition, the bank demonstrates strong profitability resilience.

Asset quality continues to improve. As of the end of 2025, the non-performing loan ratio was 1.15%, down 0.01 percentage points from the previous year, maintaining a good risk control level in the industry; the provision coverage ratio was 203.61%, slightly lower than last year but still above 200%, ensuring sufficient risk resistance capacity and a solid foundation for steady business development. In terms of business layout, CITIC Bank focuses on the “five major articles” of finance, increasing support for the real economy, technological innovation, green development, and inclusive finance. The bank develops its corporate, retail, and financial markets segments evenly, forming a revenue structure of “4:4:2,” effectively hedging risks from single business fluctuations. Leveraging the comprehensive financial advantages of CITIC Group, the bank has developed distinctive competitiveness in cross-border finance, wealth management, and transaction banking, continuously strengthening its customer base. The proportion of low-cost liabilities steadily increases, supporting stable net interest margins. Meanwhile, digital transformation advances deeply, with financial technology empowering process optimization and service efficiency, continuously improving online-offline integrated service systems, and enhancing customer experience and market reputation.

Behind these impressive achievements, CITIC Bank also faces industry-wide and stage-specific challenges. In 2025, the bank’s total operating income was 212.475 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.55% year-on-year, mainly due to the deepening of interest rate marketization, benefits to the real economy, and market volatility, which put pressure on net interest margins and non-interest income—common issues faced by banks today. The provision coverage ratio slightly declined but remained within a reasonable range, reflecting ongoing efforts to optimize risk buffers amid scale expansion and profit growth.

From a management perspective, the president position is temporarily vacant, and some key middle- and back-office roles are yet to be filled. While this has not affected daily operations, in the long term, promptly appointing a formal president and optimizing senior management will better support the bank’s strategic planning and implementation. Additionally, at the trillion-yuan scale, the complexity of asset-liability management, cross-regional coordination, and full-process risk control increases, demanding higher operational precision from management. Overall, these challenges are transitional issues in development and will not alter CITIC Bank’s long-term positive fundamentals. With a solid customer base, sound governance structure, strong group synergy, and ongoing transformation momentum, the bank is capable of gradually resolving short-term pressures through asset restructuring, expanding non-interest income, strengthening cost control, and enhancing risk management, achieving coordinated growth in scale, efficiency, and quality.

The leadership additions, including Zhao Yuanxin, at this new starting point of 10 trillion yuan in assets, mark a new development opportunity for CITIC Bank. Moving forward, as the new management team gradually takes office, the bank will continue to uphold its original intention of serving the real economy, deepen the “value banking” strategy, and focus on three major directions: light capital transformation, digital empowerment, and comprehensive operations. It will optimize business structure and asset quality continuously. In risk management, the inclusion of senior executives like Zhao Yuanxin with credit management and regional risk control experience will further strengthen the bank’s “full process, full coverage, full penetration” risk control system, balancing business growth and risk prevention to ensure the bank’s steady and long-term development. In talent development, the bank will continue to improve promotion channels based on “grassroots experience, regional deepening, and headquarters empowerment,” cultivating a professional, young, and versatile management team to support long-term growth.

Standing at this new starting point of 10 trillion yuan, CITIC Bank is consolidating governance foundations through orderly leadership iteration, navigating cycles with prudent management, and solving development challenges through reform and innovation. As a core member of the first tier of joint-stock banks, the bank will continue to demonstrate leadership, play a greater role in serving national strategies and promoting high-quality economic development, and create sustained and stable value for investors, customers, and society.