State-owned major banks elaborate on private banking business strategies; joint-stock banks showcase their achievements

With 2025 annual reports from listed banks rolling out one after another, private banking is showing new changes in information disclosure and development pathways. While four state-owned big banks—Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank—have not disclosed core data such as private banking assets under management and number of clients, they have described their business strategies and service upgrade initiatives. Shareholding banks, meanwhile, have provided complete disclosures of the relevant data, and in most banks, private banking AUM and the number of clients have both increased.

Interviewees said this change reflects a profound shift in the underlying logic of private banking development. The industry is entering a phase of deep transformation in customer segment structure, service models, and competitive paths. In the future, the competitive focus of private banking will also shift from scale expansion to a comparison of comprehensive service capabilities such as asset allocation, wealth inheritance, and non-financial services.

Private-banking business varies by emphasis

Based on the disclosed data, in 2025, shareholding banks’ private banking business saw overall steady growth. In 2025, China Merchants Bank’s private banking clients (meaning retail clients with daily average total assets in the bank’s books in RMB of 10 million yuan and above, calculated as of the “monthly-day average”) reached 199,326 accounts, up 17.87% from the end of the previous year. Industrial Bank’s private banking month-average comprehensive financial assets were 1,106.69 billion yuan (banking basis, excluding the market value of third-party custody), up 15.15% from the end of the previous year; private banking clients’ month-average number was 86,901 accounts, up 12.83% from the end of the previous year, with average assets per client rising in parallel. Ping An Bank’s private banking client base was 105.6 thousand accounts, up 9.1% from the end of the previous year; its private banking clients’ asset management AUM ending balance was 105.6k yuan, up 0.8% from the end of the previous year. Everbright Bank’s private banking clients were 75,667 accounts, up 6.26% from the end of the previous year; its private banking clients’ asset management AUM was 1.99T yuan, up 6.08% from the end of the previous year. In addition, Zhejiang Commercial Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Minsheng Bank, and CITIC Bank’s private banking businesses also achieved double growth in both AUM and customer base.

The disclosure of private banking business data by state-owned big banks shows clear differentiation. Only Postal Savings Bank of China and Bank of Communications have published related operating figures; the other four state-owned big banks did not disclose specific indicators. Despite not disclosing detailed data, the state-owned big banks have clearly stated their transformation direction, mainly focusing on areas such as smart-and-digital upgrade, globalized services, deepening efforts on key customer segments, and wealth inheritance, while continuously improving private banking service systems.

Specifically, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China links customers’ service chain and value chain through a comprehensive financial solution, empowers smart-and-digital transformation with AI, focuses on building a service ecosystem for scientists and entrepreneurs of tech innovation enterprises, and has launched a mobile banking charitable account. Agricultural Bank of China leverages its three core service capabilities—wealth management, client operations, and ecosystem integration—to upgrade and improve its “Private Banking+” platform. Bank of China continues to build globalized, comprehensive, and tailored private banking services, vigorously develops trust business, and the number of trust and charitable trust customers for wealth management services increased by 64% from the end of the previous year. China Construction Bank has comprehensively upgraded its core financial services for private banking, including asset allocation, wealth planning, family advisers, and corporate financing, and is promoting intensive client operation through customer tiering, segmentation, and grouping.

Xue Hongyan, a special research fellow at SuShang Bank, said to a reporter from The Securities Daily that for some state-owned big banks not to disclose core data, multiple factors are taken into account. Such indicators are not statutory disclosure items, and banks have discretion in choosing whether to disclose them.

Transforming toward “value deepening”

Bank annual reports show that private banking business is moving away from dependence on “product sales” and shifting toward comprehensive financial services across the entire lifecycle. High-net-worth clients are becoming younger and more diverse; demand for wealth inheritance, cross-border asset allocation, and non-financial services is surging. Family trusts, insurance premium trusts, and charitable trusts have become engines for business growth. Digitization and ecosystem-building are key competitive strengths; banks strengthen business collaboration, improving service efficiency and precision through big data and artificial intelligence.

Liu Feipeng, a researcher at China Postal Savings Bank, said to a reporter from The Securities Daily that value deepening in private banking is reflected in adjustments to service and client strategies. In terms of service models, banks are gradually shifting from single product sales to asset allocation across the entire lifecycle, and are strengthening wealth inheritance services such as family trusts and charitable trusts. In terms of client strategies, banks focus on segmented customer groups such as entrepreneurs, leaders of tech-innovation enterprises, and new-economy groups, providing tailored comprehensive financial solution services. At the same time, banks use digital means to build a “financial + non-financial” service ecosystem, enabling a transformation from scale expansion to quality improvement.

Looking ahead to 2026, Xue Hongyan believes private banking will show a development pattern of “concentration at the top and distinctive breakthroughs.” Growth momentum will shift from external scale expansion to internal value excavation, while services will transform toward “advisory-based” and “investment-banking-like” offerings. State-owned big banks will maintain their leading position by leveraging their strengths in comprehensive financial services. Shareholding banks will accelerate their catch-up using differentiated strategies, while regional banks will deepen efforts on local industry customer segments. In the future, industry competition will focus on customer-demand insights, integration of ecosystem resources, and the ability to apply technology. Cross-border finance, green finance, and retirement security will become new growth drivers.