In the first half of this year, banks in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region demonstrated robust profitability among A-share listed banks. According to the ranking of the year-on-year growth rates of net profits attributable to the parent company in the mid-2024 reports of 42 A-share listed banks, six of the top ten were banks in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, including Hangzhou Bank, Changshu Bank, Sunong Bank, Ruifeng Bank, Suzhou Bank, and Jiangyin Bank. The net profit growth of these banks all exceeded 10%, with both Hangzhou Bank and Changshu Bank's growth rates approaching 20%.
Hangzhou Bank and Changshu Bank stood out in particular. Hangzhou Bank achieved an operating income of 19.34 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 5.36%, and a net profit attributable to the parent company growth rate of 20.06%, mainly due to reduced credit impairment losses and a high provision coverage ratio. Changshu Bank's provision coverage ratio remained stable at 538.81%, with net profit growing by 19.58% in the first half of the year, benefiting from resilient growth in net interest income.
Suzhou Bank, Ruifeng Bank, Sunong Bank, and Jiangyin Bank also showed steady growth in profitability, all maintaining high provision coverage ratios, and net profit growth exceeding 10%. Ruifeng Bank and Jiangyin Bank increased provisions in the first half of the year, yet still achieved double-digit growth in net profit attributable to the parent company.
Notably, small and medium-sized banks in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region exhibited significant resilience. Changshu Bank achieved a 6.1% growth in net interest income despite the overall contraction of industry net interest margins, with a net interest margin reaching 2.79%. Hangzhou Bank saw loan and deposit growth both exceeding 10%, with a slight increase in net interest income.
Overall, the growth of banks in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region in the first half of this year benefited from provision releases, stable loan structures, and increased non-interest income. However, whether this growth can be sustained in the future will require close attention to market and macroeconomic changes.
