-- Agricultural Bank of China (HKG:1288, SHA:601288) recorded a modest increase in profit in the first quarter of 2026 versus a year earlier, as the lender booked a sharp jump in credit provisions.
Profit attributable to shareholders in Q1 jumped 4.5% to 75.2 billion yuan from 71.9 billion yuan, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing on Thursday.
Earnings per share edged up 5.3% year on year to 0.20 yuan from 0.19 yuan.
Operating income rose 10.5% to 206.3 billion yuan from 186.7 billion yuan, driven by two main factors. Net interest income climbed 7.6% to 151.2 billion yuan, helped by a 3% drop in interest expense to 152.2 billion yuan, even as interest income edged up 2% to 303.4 billion yuan. Net fee and commission income grew 7.9% to 30.2 billion yuan.
Net interest margin, a gauge of profitability, was at 1.26%, the bank said without providing comparable figures.
The bank also booked a larger gain on the derecognition of amortized cost assets at 11.1 billion yuan from 6.3 billion yuan in Q1 2025.
Additionally, ABC booked a sevenfold jump in net gains on financial investments to 2.8 billion yuan from 420 million yuan.
The cost-to-income ratio shrank 157 basis points to 24.01%, as operating expenses grew just 3.6% to 54.0 billion yuan against operating income growth of 10.5%.
Meanwhile, credit impairment losses ballooned in Q1 to 73.7 billion yuan from 57.1 billion yuan. As a result, operating profit rose only 1.4% to 78.7 billion yuan from 77.6 billion yuan.
The bank did not provide a breakdown of where provisions were allocated.
This, however, was partially offset by a lower tax bill. Income tax expense shrank 44% to 3.1 billion yuan from 5.5 billion yuan.
Income tax paid during the quarter narrowed sharply to 8.6 billion yuan from 25.7 billion yuan a year earlier.
ABC is one of China's five biggest lenders alongside Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (SHA:601398, HKG:1398), Bank of Communications (SHA:601328, HKG:3328), China Construction Bank (SHA:601939, HKG:0939) and Bank of China (HKG:3988, SHA:601988).
ABC is the second-largest in terms of asset size. Total assets in Q1 expanded 4.6% from the end of 2025 to over 51 trillion yuan.
Loans and advances to customers grew almost 5% to 28.5 trillion yuan, with corporate loans accounting for 16.7 trillion yuan, retail loans 9.7 trillion yuan, and discounted bills 1.6 trillion yuan. The bank's financial investments in Q1 rose 5.1% to 17.1 trillion yuan.
In terms of asset quality, the bank's non-performing loan ratio edged down to 1.25% from 1.27%, with its non-performing loan balance rising by 11.9 billion yuan to 355.4 billion yuan.
Allowance to non-performing loans was unchanged at 292.55%.
Ming Tan, a director at S&P Global Ratings, said Chinese banks "have little direct exposure to the Middle East," as per Singapore Business Times.
"If the war worsens, it could have second-order impacts on asset quality. Chinese megabanks have above-average exposure to sectors such as transportation, utilities, and manufacturing. These sectors are hit harder by higher energy prices," Tan added.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported, citing Morgan Stanley analysts, that Chinese banks could see a revenue recovery in 2026 as margin pressure softens and fee income stabilizes.
Analysts led by Richard Xu wrote in a late March note, as cited by Bloomberg: "The repricing of deposits and a move toward 'anti-involution' in loan pricing-reducing irrational competition-are among the factors expected to support NIM this year."
Vivian Xue, a director for financial institutions at Fitch Ratings, said Chinese lenders' balance sheets will be supported by more cautious loan expansion and a commitment to actively clearing out "toxic assets," Bloomberg reported.