CITIC Bank is one of the earliest commercial banks established during China’s reform and opening up period. It was among the first commercial banks to engage in financing within both domestic and international financial markets. Today, CITIC Bank has grown into a financial group with total assets exceeding RMB9.5 trillion and over 65,000 employees, demonstrating overall strength and brand competitiveness.
The year 2024 marked the launch of CITIC Bank’s “2024–2026 Development Plan”, aligning with the bank’s vision of becoming a global first-class bank with “Four Features”1. CITIC Bank upholds honesty and trustworthiness, pursues benefits through righteous means, maintains steadiness, prudence, integrity and innovation and sustains legal compliance. Being customer-centric, CITIC Bank has worked to create a distinctive and differentiated financial service model by implementing the “Five Leading”2 strategy. Through this model, the bank offers a diverse range of financial products and services to corporate, retail and interbank clients, fully addressing their comprehensive financial needs. In 2024, CITIC Bank ranked 19th in the “Banking 500” list published by Brand Finance in the UK, and its Tier One capital ranked 18th in “Top 1000 World Banks” by The Banker magazine in the UK.
Accelerating the implementation of the “Five Leading” strategy
CITIC Bank aims to comprehensively strengthen the framework of “five leading” banks, and to continuously enhance core competitiveness and differentiated advantages, solidifying the foundation for operational development to achieve strong business results.
As a leading wealth management bank, CITIC Bank upholds a customer-oriented and value-driven philosophy. It is committed to enhancing its professional service capabilities and value creation, providing clients with comprehensive financial solutions for their entire life cycle. Key initiatives include upgrading operational system with a unified management platform for retail business, optimising institutional mechanisms to promote centralised operations in private banking, and implementing direct management models for major clients at Head Office. CITIC Bank also consolidates its core businesses, highlighting its strengths in asset management, private banking and consumer finance, while enhancing services for elderly care and outbound clients. By the end of 2024, the balance of retail-managed assets reached RMB4.69 trillion, marking a 10.62% increase compared to 31 December 2023.
As a leading comprehensive financing bank, CITIC Bank strives to accelerate the development of an ecosystem that integrates “commercial banking+investment banking+collaboration+matchmaking”, offering clients comprehensive financing services that encompass both “financing and intelligence”. The “comprehensive commercial bank” ecosystem focuses on implementing the “five major tasks” in finance, prioritising special areas such as government finance, industrial chain finance and cross-border finance, while continuously enhancing ability to support the real economy. The “comprehensive investment bank” ecosystem concentrates on two key areas in debt and equity capital markets, consistently cultivating distinct competitive advantages. The “broad collaboration” ecosystem explores and expands financing opportunities in inter-financial collaboration and industry-finance integration, creating a distinctive collaborative service framework. The “extensive matchmaking” ecosystem actively engages in four primary areas across: offshore bonds, leasing, insurance and asset management companies (AMC). By the end of 2024, the comprehensive financing balance reached RMB14.29 trillion, an increase of 8.66% compared to 31 December 2023.
As a leading transaction settlement bank, CITIC Bank is reshaping its approach to settlement and prioritising continuous settlement enhancement in three key areas across: infrastructure, products and business case. In terms of infrastructure, CITIC Bank developed a multi-tiered transaction settlement platform that encompasses a matrix of services, including “Tianyuan Treasury” for large and medium-sized clients, “Easy Salary” for small and medium-sized clients, and corporate online banking for a broader customer base. In terms of products, CITIC Bank overhauled its transaction settlement product system to create three main product lines focused on client treasury management, procurement management and sales management. In terms of business case, CITIC Bank built on its strengths in the automotive finance sector, expanding to offer comprehensive settlement solutions across ten key industries, including food and beverage and consumer electronics, thereby enhancing competitive edge in transaction settlement.
As a leading foreign exchange service bank, CITIC Bank aligns closely with the national strategy for high-level openness to the global market. CITIC Bank leverages its unique advantages in foreign exchange operations to develop a comprehensive cross-border financial service system. It strengthened its leading position in financial services for emerging foreign trade sectors, such as cross-border e-commerce platforms. In 2024, the transaction for cross-border e-commerce platforms reached USD29.604 billion, serving 115,300 clients. CITIC Bank was among the first to implement multi-functional free trade account services in Hainan and Hengqin. By the end of 2024, the total balance of non-resident accounts and free trade account loans reached RMB61.19 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 34.23%. Additionally, CITIC Bank continually enhanced its online foreign exchange trading platform, “Foreign Exchange Trading Pass”, which facilitated a cumulative trading volume of US$117.502 billion, significantly boosting cross-border transaction service capabilities.
As a leading digital bank, CITIC Bank is committed to advancing its technology-driven strategy by prioritising innovation and fostering the deep integration of business and technology. It continuously enhanced its digital capabilities and technological infrastructure. By the end of 2024, CITIC Bank had 5,832 technology personnel, representing 8.91% of its workforce. Its investment in information technology reached RMB10.945 billion, accounting for 5.12% of its operating revenue. CITIC Bank is accelerating the conversion of innovative outcomes into productive capabilities. It launched several key products, including the “Smart Online Banking 5.0” platform, “Tianyuan Treasury Standard Edition 2.0” and the new version of “Easy Salary”. In retail banking, CITIC Bank developed a retail expense management platform and a unified operational strategy known as the “one horizontal” platform. Additionally, its financial market division created a quantitative trading platform and enhanced digital strategy capabilities, with proprietary automated trading comprising nearly 70% of transactions and a year-on-year trading volume increasing over 40%.
Balanced development across “Three Major Segments”
In 2024, CITIC Bank continued to advance the development of its three major segments in: corporate banking, retail banking and financial markets, establishing a distinctive and well-balanced business model.
In corporate banking, CITIC Bank strictly implemented national policies and guidelines, prioritising high-quality development while increasing support for the real economy. The bank actively promoted business transformation, with overall operations showing steady progress. CITIC Bank established a comprehensive system for inclusive finance that encompasses organisational structure, products, marketing, risk control and services, ensuring a steady increase in both the volume and quality of micro and small loans. The bank also enhanced its organisational efforts in green finance and strengthened its capacity for comprehensive green financial services, with the balance of green credit surpassing RMB600 billion. It underwrote 2,223 debt financing instruments, with a total underwriting value of RMB960 billion, leading the market in both quantity and value of underwritings3. The bank also actively embraced the national high-level opening up strategy, leveraging non-resident accounts and free trade accounts to provide high-quality cross-border investment and financing services for “going global” enterprises. CITIC Bank continued to enhance product and service model innovation, increasing financing support for small and medium-sized enterprises in key industries through supply chain financing. The company provided RMB1.6635 trillion in supply chain financing to 48,467 enterprises, representing year-on-year increases of 9% and 24%, respectively. Focusing on the asset management industry, the bank intensified efforts to promote custody services for public funds, pension funds and cross-border custody. By the end of 2024, total assets under custody surpassed RMB16 trillion. In terms of client-based development, CITIC Bank strengthened its corporate client base by improving its tiered and categorised management system. By the end of 2024, the total number of corporate clients reached 1.2666 million, an increase of 9% from the end of the previous year.
In retail banking, CITIC Bank actively aligned with market development trends while adhering to a strategic approach in retail banking operations. By expanding its customer base, strengthening product offerings, optimising channel capabilities and enhancing service experiences, the bank provided comprehensive services that combined “financial and non-financial” solutions. In wealth management, CITIC Bank emphasised investment research-driven strategies, continuously improving the wealth product system based on customer needs and market analysis. This approach ensured foresight and effectiveness in supply management, thereby enhancing customers’ profitability experiences. The bank’s retail credit business maintained strong growth momentum, with balanced development across its three main products of personal housing loans, personal business loans and personal consumption loans. By the end of 2024, personal mortgage loans reached RMB1.0326 trillion and personal inclusive loans totalled RMB411.7 billion, representing increases of RMB61.4 billion and RMB31.2 billion, respectively, compared to the end of the previous year. In the credit card business, CITIC Bank continued to accelerate the development of its ecosystem scenario while enhancing the management of interest-earning assets, with a total of 123 million credit cards issued, reflecting a 7% increase from the end of the previous year. The bank has upgraded its “Happiness+” pension financial service system and accelerated the development of the pension financial ecosystem. The bank upgraded the pension planning tool to Pension Account Book 3.0, recording more than 5 million users. CITIC Bank systemically enhanced customer segmentation and improved its capabilities to deliver tailored services. It targeted key demographics such as seniors, expatriates and Generation Z to strengthen the bank’s distinctive advantages. By the end of 2024, the number of individual customers reached 145 million, a 6% increase from the previous year.
In the financial market business, CITIC Bank aimed for “refined management and innovative development,” continuously improving its comprehensive operational management system based on “sales and services, investment and trading, as well as research and risk control”. This approach enabled in-depth integrated management of interbank client operations and established a leading product market-making model. By 2024, the bank’s bill business provided bill discounting services totalling RMB1.578 trillion to 19,526 enterprises, of which 14,385 were small and micro-sized enterprises, accounting for 74% of the total clients. The bank continued to offer pricing and trading services in the interbank foreign exchange market, with foreign exchange market-making trading volume increasing 28% year on year to US$3.35 trillion. CITIC Bank fulfilled its responsibilities as a national debt underwriter and interbank bond market maker, successfully executing the market’s first “Northbound Swap Connect” IMM contract and the first batch of interest rate swap contracts. In the asset management business, CITIC Bank leveraged synergistic advantages within the group to establish a comprehensive product system that covers the entire market, as well as all asset classes, time zones and multiple channels. As of the end of 2024, the scale of wealth management products reached RMB1.99 trillion, reflecting a 15% increase from the previous year.
| Indicator | As at 31 December 2024 | As at 31 December 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Core tier-one capital adequacy ratio | 9.72% | 8.99% |
| Tier-one capital adequacy ratio | 11.26% | 10.75% |
| Capital adequacy ratio | 13.36% | 12.93% |
| NPL ratio | 1.16% | 1.18% |
| Provision coverage ratio | 209.43% | 207.59% |
Accelerating the implementation of the “Five Leading” strategy
CITIC Bank aims to comprehensively strengthen the framework of “five leading” banks, and to continuously enhance core competitiveness and differentiated advantages, solidifying the foundation for operational development to achieve strong business results.
As a leading wealth management bank, CITIC Bank upholds a customer-oriented and value-driven philosophy. It is committed to enhancing its professional service capabilities and value creation, providing clients with comprehensive financial solutions for their entire life cycle. Key initiatives include upgrading operational system with a unified management platform for retail business, optimising institutional mechanisms to promote centralised operations in private banking, and implementing direct management models for major clients at Head Office. CITIC Bank also consolidates its core businesses, highlighting its strengths in asset management, private banking and consumer finance, while enhancing services for elderly care and outbound clients. By the end of 2024, the balance of retail-managed assets reached RMB4.69 trillion, marking a 10.62% increase compared to 31 December 2023.
As a leading comprehensive financing bank, CITIC Bank strives to accelerate the development of an ecosystem that integrates “commercial banking+investment banking+collaboration+matchmaking”, offering clients comprehensive financing services that encompass both “financing and intelligence”. The “comprehensive commercial bank” ecosystem focuses on implementing the “five major tasks” in finance, prioritising special areas such as government finance, industrial chain finance and cross-border finance, while continuously enhancing ability to support the real economy. The “comprehensive investment bank” ecosystem concentrates on two key areas in debt and equity capital markets, consistently cultivating distinct competitive advantages. The “broad collaboration” ecosystem explores and expands financing opportunities in inter-financial collaboration and industry-finance integration, creating a distinctive collaborative service framework. The “extensive matchmaking” ecosystem actively engages in four primary areas across: offshore bonds, leasing, insurance and asset management companies (AMC). By the end of 2024, the comprehensive financing balance reached RMB14.29 trillion, an increase of 8.66% compared to 31 December 2023.
As a leading transaction settlement bank, CITIC Bank is reshaping its approach to settlement and prioritising continuous settlement enhancement in three key areas across: infrastructure, products and business case. In terms of infrastructure, CITIC Bank developed a multi-tiered transaction settlement platform that encompasses a matrix of services, including “Tianyuan Treasury” for large and medium-sized clients, “Easy Salary” for small and medium-sized clients, and corporate online banking for a broader customer base. In terms of products, CITIC Bank overhauled its transaction settlement product system to create three main product lines focused on client treasury management, procurement management and sales management. In terms of business case, CITIC Bank built on its strengths in the automotive finance sector, expanding to offer comprehensive settlement solutions across ten key industries, including food and beverage and consumer electronics, thereby enhancing competitive edge in transaction settlement.
As a leading foreign exchange service bank, CITIC Bank aligns closely with the national strategy for high-level openness to the global market. CITIC Bank leverages its unique advantages in foreign exchange operations to develop a comprehensive cross-border financial service system. It strengthened its leading position in financial services for emerging foreign trade sectors, such as cross-border e-commerce platforms. In 2024, the transaction for cross-border e-commerce platforms reached USD29.604 billion, serving 115,300 clients. CITIC Bank was among the first to implement multi-functional free trade account services in Hainan and Hengqin. By the end of 2024, the total balance of non-resident accounts and free trade account loans reached RMB61.19 billion, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 34.23%. Additionally, CITIC Bank continually enhanced its online foreign exchange trading platform, “Foreign Exchange Trading Pass”, which facilitated a cumulative trading volume of US$117.502 billion, significantly boosting cross-border transaction service capabilities.
As a leading digital bank, CITIC Bank is committed to advancing its technology-driven strategy by prioritising innovation and fostering the deep integration of business and technology. It continuously enhanced its digital capabilities and technological infrastructure. By the end of 2024, CITIC Bank had 5,832 technology personnel, representing 8.91% of its workforce. Its investment in information technology reached RMB10.945 billion, accounting for 5.12% of its operating revenue. CITIC Bank is accelerating the conversion of innovative outcomes into productive capabilities. It launched several key products, including the “Smart Online Banking 5.0” platform, “Tianyuan Treasury Standard Edition 2.0” and the new version of “Easy Salary”. In retail banking, CITIC Bank developed a retail expense management platform and a unified operational strategy known as the “one horizontal” platform. Additionally, its financial market division created a quantitative trading platform and enhanced digital strategy capabilities, with proprietary automated trading comprising nearly 70% of transactions and a year-on-year trading volume increasing over 40%.
Balanced development across “Three Major Segments”
In 2024, CITIC Bank continued to advance the development of its three major segments in: corporate banking, retail banking and financial markets, establishing a distinctive and well-balanced business model.
In corporate banking, CITIC Bank strictly implemented national policies and guidelines, prioritising high-quality development while increasing support for the real economy. The bank actively promoted business transformation, with overall operations showing steady progress. CITIC Bank established a comprehensive system for inclusive finance that encompasses organisational structure, products, marketing, risk control and services, ensuring a steady increase in both the volume and quality of micro and small loans. The bank also enhanced its organisational efforts in green finance and strengthened its capacity for comprehensive green financial services, with the balance of green credit surpassing RMB600 billion. It underwrote 2,223 debt financing instruments, with a total underwriting value of RMB960 billion, leading the market in both quantity and value of underwritings3. The bank also actively embraced the national high-level opening up strategy, leveraging non-resident accounts and free trade accounts to provide high-quality cross-border investment and financing services for “going global” enterprises. CITIC Bank continued to enhance product and service model innovation, increasing financing support for small and medium-sized enterprises in key industries through supply chain financing. The company provided RMB1.6635 trillion in supply chain financing to 48,467 enterprises, representing year-on-year increases of 9% and 24%, respectively. Focusing on the asset management industry, the bank intensified efforts to promote custody services for public funds, pension funds and cross-border custody. By the end of 2024, total assets under custody surpassed RMB16 trillion. In terms of client-based development, CITIC Bank strengthened its corporate client base by improving its tiered and categorised management system. By the end of 2024, the total number of corporate clients reached 1.2666 million, an increase of 9% from the end of the previous year.
In retail banking, CITIC Bank actively aligned with market development trends while adhering to a strategic approach in retail banking operations. By expanding its customer base, strengthening product offerings, optimising channel capabilities and enhancing service experiences, the bank provided comprehensive services that combined “financial and non-financial” solutions. In wealth management, CITIC Bank emphasised investment research-driven strategies, continuously improving the wealth product system based on customer needs and market analysis. This approach ensured foresight and effectiveness in supply management, thereby enhancing customers’ profitability experiences. The bank’s retail credit business maintained strong growth momentum, with balanced development across its three main products of personal housing loans, personal business loans and personal consumption loans. By the end of 2024, personal mortgage loans reached RMB1.0326 trillion and personal inclusive loans totalled RMB411.7 billion, representing increases of RMB61.4 billion and RMB31.2 billion, respectively, compared to the end of the previous year. In the credit card business, CITIC Bank continued to accelerate the development of its ecosystem scenario while enhancing the management of interest-earning assets, with a total of 123 million credit cards issued, reflecting a 7% increase from the end of the previous year. The bank has upgraded its “Happiness+” pension financial service system and accelerated the development of the pension financial ecosystem. The bank upgraded the pension planning tool to Pension Account Book 3.0, recording more than 5 million users. CITIC Bank systemically enhanced customer segmentation and improved its capabilities to deliver tailored services. It targeted key demographics such as seniors, expatriates and Generation Z to strengthen the bank’s distinctive advantages. By the end of 2024, the number of individual customers reached 145 million, a 6% increase from the previous year.
In the financial market business, CITIC Bank aimed for “refined management and innovative development,” continuously improving its comprehensive operational management system based on “sales and services, investment and trading, as well as research and risk control”. This approach enabled in-depth integrated management of interbank client operations and established a leading product market-making model. By 2024, the bank’s bill business provided bill discounting services totalling RMB1.578 trillion to 19,526 enterprises, of which 14,385 were small and micro-sized enterprises, accounting for 74% of the total clients. The bank continued to offer pricing and trading services in the interbank foreign exchange market, with foreign exchange market-making trading volume increasing 28% year on year to US$3.35 trillion. CITIC Bank fulfilled its responsibilities as a national debt underwriter and interbank bond market maker, successfully executing the market’s first “Northbound Swap Connect” IMM contract and the first batch of interest rate swap contracts. In the asset management business, CITIC Bank leveraged synergistic advantages within the group to establish a comprehensive product system that covers the entire market, as well as all asset classes, time zones and multiple channels. As of the end of 2024, the scale of wealth management products reached RMB1.99 trillion, reflecting a 15% increase from the previous year.
Notes：
1
A bank with “Four Features” refers to a responsible, unique, valuable and caring provider of the best comprehensive financial services.
2
“Five Leading” refers to a leading wealth management bank, a leading comprehensive financing bank, a leading transaction settlement bank, a leading foreign exchange service bank and a leading digital bank.
3
According to the rankings from Wind Information