“Investor Network” Cui Yuechen
The world economy is entering a new historical period. Deflation and inflation coexist side by side. Both the beginning of a recovery and a deep depression are possible, and the global situation is becoming more complicated and mysterious. In an age of great change, wisdom and rationality to lead the course are even more necessary.
In the face of opportunities and challenges, the Bank of Changsha upholds the original intention of development, adheres to the value proposition and long-term principle, strives to integrate into the current torrents of financial development with Chinese characteristics, and is being reborn in practice.
On May 8, the Bank of Changsha held the 2023 annual results briefing to explain measures and ideas to support the development of the financial industry, the strategic plan for the next three years, and the performance outlook for this year.
The annual report shows that in 2023, Bank of Changsha achieved operating income of 24.803 billion yuan, an increase of 8.46%; total profit of 9.388 billion yuan, an increase of 8.08%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 7.463 billion yuan, an increase of 9.57% over the previous year.
In the same period, Bank of Changsha's total assets reached 1020.33 billion yuan, breaking the trillion mark for the first time, and ushered in the perfect end of the previous 10-year strategy two years ahead of schedule. The total principal amount of loans issued and advances was 488.391 billion yuan, and the total deposit principal amount absorbed was 658.857 billion yuan, and the scale of the business achieved steady growth.
Profitability continues to lead
Established in May 1997, Bank of Changsha is the first regional joint-stock commercial bank in Hunan Province and the largest corporate finance enterprise in Hunan Province. At present, 13 branches and 17 direct branches have been set up in Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Changde, Huaihua, Zhangjiajie, Yueyang, Guangzhou, etc., under the administration of 389 licensed business outlets. The service network covers both Xiang and Guangdong, achieving full coverage of cities, states and all counties in Hunan Province.
Over the past year, the Bank of Changsha's operating performance showed a steady positive trend. During the reporting period, the bank achieved operating income of 24.803 billion yuan, an increase of 8.46% over the previous year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 7.463 billion yuan, an increase of 652 million yuan over the previous year, an increase of 9.57%. The results cannot be described as unimpressive.
In the same period, Bank of Changsha achieved net interest income of 20.028 billion yuan, an increase of 11.47% over the previous year, accounting for 80.75% of operating income. Among them, interest income was $40.150 billion, up 12.17% year on year; interest expenses were 20.022 billion yuan, up 12.88% year on year.
It is worth mentioning that in the severe economic situation, Bank of Changsha's net interest spread and net interest spread declined slightly in 2023 to 2.31% and 2.43%, respectively. Compared with peers, it still shows strong resilience.
The Bank of Changsha said at the performance briefing that in 2024, it will continue to place “stabilizing interest spreads” in a prominent and important position, focusing on improving asset and liability allocation, refining differentiated pricing of deposits and loans, and making joint efforts from the asset side and debt side.
By the end of the reporting period, Bank of Changsha had total assets of 1020.033 billion yuan, an increase of 115.299 billion yuan over the end of the previous year, an increase of 12.74%, breaking the trillion yuan mark for the first time. One of the major reasons for the rapid growth of the bank's total assets is the increase in credit investment, and the share of loan and advance balances increased to 46.45% from 45.62% at the end of last year.
Asset quality is stable, moderate and improving
Behind good benefits, it is inseparable from the continued stability of asset quality. In recent years, the Bank of Changsha has stepped up its efforts to dispose of non-performing assets and adhere to a prudent risk management culture.
By the end of 2023, the Bank of Changsha's non-performing loan ratio was 1.15%, down 0.01 percentage points from the end of the previous year, and the provision coverage rate was 314.21%, up 3.12 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The overall asset quality was stable and manageable, and risk offsetting capacity continued to increase.
According to data from the State Financial Supervisory Administration, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, the average non-performing loan ratio of joint stock commercial banks in China was 1.26%, of which 1.75% were urban businesses and 3.34% were agricultural and commercial businesses.
By industry, the top three industries of Bank of Changsha's loan investment were water conservancy, environment and public facilities management, leasing and business services, and manufacturing, which accounted for 18.08%, 15.11%, and 14.56% of public loans, respectively.
By region, the Bank of Changsha mainly operates loan business in Hunan Province, accounting for 98.22% of the loan amount, of which the Changsha region accounts for 51.04% of the loan amount.
Over the past year, Bank of Changsha has continued to deepen capital management. Through planning, allocation, and assessment, it has optimized its business structure, enhanced its ability to return capital, and promoted the balance between endogenous capital and risk-weighted asset growth in order to maintain a stable level of capital adequacy.
As of the end of the reporting period, the Bank of Changsha's core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, and capital adequacy ratio were 9.59%, 10.57%, and 13.04% respectively, maintaining the leading level in the industry.
County finance continues to be deeply cultivated
As the main regional financial force in Hunan Province, the Bank of Changsha takes it as its mission to help the high-quality development of the local economy, adhere to the “No. 1 Project” strategic positioning of county finance, deeply cultivate characteristic areas in the county area, and promote integrated development between urban and rural areas.
By the end of 2023, Bank of Changsha's county deposit balance reached 204.574 billion yuan, up 28.232 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, or 16.01%; the county loan balance was 169.70 billion yuan, an increase of 27.393 billion yuan over the end of the previous year, an increase of 19.25%; and the county retail customer base was 6.248,700, an increase of 595,600 households over the end of the previous year, an increase of 10.54%.
In 2023, Bank of Changsha's specialty products made a strong breakthrough. The “Xiangcun Express Loan” innovation pilot project was launched, and a basic database containing 850,000 agricultural customers was successfully built; the “Xiangnong Express Loan” product was upgraded and iterated, and the business variety was expanded from a single type to six major categories, and the exhibition agency achieved 100% coverage of counties in Hunan Province. By the end of 2023, the “Xiangnong Express Loan” credit amount reached 219 million yuan, and the loan balance reached 129 million yuan.
At the same time, the Bank of Changsha has built an ecosystem of local lifestyle ecology+fintech ecosystem. The number of online users of the “Xiangcun Online” integrated rural revitalization service platform surpassed 100,000, strongly promoting the extension of “Internet+Government Services+Financial Services” to the countryside.
At the performance briefing, the Bank of Changsha said that the next step in improving county finance is to start from two points. One is to focus on industrial finance and use industrial finance as a breakthrough to fully support the development of the county's characteristic industries and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises; the second is to focus on county customer management, implement network communalization strategies, and weave a network-centered service network in the county area to include county customers.
Write the “five big articles” well
A new era requires a new economy, and a new economy calls for new finance. The Bank of Changsha has always adhered to the original intention of serving the real economy, deeply involved in the mission of Huxiang, and made every effort to write the “Five Great Articles” to contribute more to the development of Huxiang's new quality productivity.
In terms of technology finance, the Bank of Changsha has established a “franchise organization, exclusive pricing, special approval, and professional products” targeted service model around the decisions and arrangements for building a highland of scientific and technological innovation in Hunan and the construction of a global R&D center in Changsha, to create a standardized science and technology innovation evaluation system using the “Ke e Express Loan” special product as the carrier.
In terms of green finance, the Bank of Changsha closely follows the “dual carbon” strategic plan, increases green investment, strongly supports emerging industries such as new energy and new manufacturing, and actively guides high-emission industries to green transformation.
In terms of digital finance, the Bank of Changsha has accelerated the digital business strategy layout, accelerated the improvement of autonomous computing power, and built a comprehensive digital management system integrating digital scenarios, intelligent risk control, automated marketing and decision-making to provide customers with one-stop digital services throughout the cycle.
In terms of inclusive finance, the Bank of Changsha focuses on making up shortcomings in rural people's livelihood and promoting agricultural modernization, promoting the collaborative development of small and micro finance and county finance, and achieving a breakthrough in inclusive finance in the process of helping rural revitalization.
In terms of pension finance, the Bank of Changsha launched a full-cycle pension wealth series of products to create characteristic community pension outlets, continue to expand 255 “superpower club” pension service platforms, and improve the availability of inclusive pension financial services.
According to public information, the Bank of Changsha's brand image improved significantly in 2023. The bank ranked 186th in the “2023 Top 1000 Global Banks” published by the UK's “The Banker” (The Banker) magazine, up 5 places from the previous year; ranked 36th in the “2023 China Banking Industry Top 100” selected by the China Banking Association, and ranked among the “Fortune” China 500 for the first time.
Looking ahead to 2024, the Bank of Changsha said that it will do a good job in related work in four dimensions: continue to break through upward and improve industrial services; cultivate downward and continue to strengthen the county area; explore inward and manage the customer base in depth; expand outward, and accelerate the development of subsidiaries. At the same time, we insist on striving for steady progress and promoting stability through progress, do a solid job in the transformation of public services, implement refined management, and promote the planned increase in volume and quality of the entire bank's operations. (Produced by Thinking Finance) ■