Nine bank-affiliated insurance companies achieved a total net profit of over 19 billion yuan last year.

Reporter: Yang Xiaohan

Recently, the insurance company’s solvency report for the fourth quarter of 2025 has nearly come to an end, and the operational situation of bank-affiliated insurance companies has also been revealed. According to the data, in 2025, bank-affiliated insurance companies performed well, with a total insurance business income of 443.816 billion yuan from 9 bank-affiliated insurance companies, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%, and a total net profit of 19.366 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 65.5%.

Experts interviewed indicated that the significant year-on-year growth in net profit for bank-affiliated insurance companies last year was mainly influenced by factors such as low base effects, a rebound in the equity market, improved asset quality, and business scale effects.

Total net profit increased significantly year-on-year

Bank-affiliated insurance companies are insurance firms directly or indirectly controlled by banks. Compared to other insurance companies, bank-affiliated insurance companies have a closer cooperative relationship with their parent banks and possess certain resource advantages.

Specifically, in terms of insurance business income, in 2025, the 9 bank-affiliated insurance companies achieved a total insurance business income of 443.816 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.5%, and all 9 companies reported year-on-year growth in insurance business income. Among the subsidiaries, China Postal Life Insurance Co., Ltd., ICBC-AXA Life Insurance Co., Ltd., and CCB Life Insurance Co., Ltd. ranked the top three with insurance business incomes of 159.166 billion yuan, 50.864 billion yuan, and 49.269 billion yuan respectively.

In terms of net profit, in 2025, all 9 bank-affiliated insurance companies reported profits, achieving a total net profit of 19.366 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 65.5%. Among them, one company turned losses into profits, seven companies saw a year-on-year increase in net profit, and one company experienced a year-on-year decrease in net profit.

It is noteworthy that among the 57 non-listed life insurance companies that have disclosed relevant solvency reports, bank-affiliated insurance companies ranked among the top 20 in terms of net profit. Of the ten non-listed life insurance companies with the highest net profit, five are bank-affiliated insurance companies.

In this regard, Yang Fan, general manager of Beijing Paipai Network Insurance Agency Co., Ltd., analyzed to the Securities Daily reporter that the overall operational situation of bank-affiliated insurance companies last year showed a strong recovery trend of “volume and profit rising together,” with the core driving force being their precise grasp of market opportunities and channel advantages.

He stated that the rapid growth of insurance business income was mainly due to the surge in demand for stable financial assets in a low-interest-rate environment, while bank-affiliated insurance companies leveraged their parent banks’ extensive networks and customer trust to dominate the bank-insurance channel competition, achieving rapid scale expansion. The significant growth in net profit was primarily attributed to improved investment returns from the rebound in the equity market, cost dilution from business scale effects, along with the low profit base for some companies last year, and the recovery of previously provisioned loss reserves due to improved asset quality, collectively contributing to impressive profit performance.

Building differentiated competitive barriers

With the rapid growth of bank-affiliated insurance companies’ business, their capital consumption has also accelerated. Data shows that most bank-affiliated insurance companies saw a year-on-year decline in their core solvency adequacy ratio and comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio last year.

Specifically, in 2025, the average core solvency adequacy ratio of the 9 bank-affiliated insurance companies was 115.89%, a decrease of 34.46 percentage points year-on-year, while the average comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio was 179.39%, a decrease of 50.25 percentage points year-on-year. Eight insurance companies experienced a decline in both the core solvency adequacy ratio and the comprehensive solvency adequacy ratio compared to 2024.

The reasons for this, according to Zhang Lingjia, president of Guangdong Kelly Capital Management Co., Ltd., who analyzed to the Securities Daily reporter, are that the solvency adequacy ratio of bank-affiliated insurance companies generally declined, primarily due to rapid business scale expansion consuming significant capital. Additionally, falling market interest rates compel insurance companies to increase reserves, leading to a reduction in actual capital. Furthermore, the full implementation of the second phase of the “Solvency II” regulations and stricter regulatory requirements have also exerted continuous pressure on solvency adequacy ratios.

Looking ahead, regarding how bank-affiliated insurance companies can leverage their advantages to achieve high-quality development, Zhang Lingjia stated that they need to shift from “scale-driven” to “value-driven,” with the core being the deep transformation towards protection-type products such as retirement and health. The key lies in upgrading asset allocation capabilities to navigate cycles and deepening ecological synergy with parent banks to provide comprehensive financial services. At the same time, insurance companies must strengthen capital management to balance business expansion and solvency safety.

Yang Fan believes that bank-affiliated insurance companies should leverage their unique advantages of “bank-insurance synergy,” transitioning from mere channel dependence to deep ecological integration, thus building differentiated competitive barriers. In terms of products, they should break the path dependence on savings-type products and develop a diversified product matrix of “protection + wealth management” based on the extensive customer profiles of banks, exploring the full lifecycle value of customers. In terms of services, they should integrate parent bank resources to build a “finance + health management” ecosystem, enhancing service added value. At the same time, leveraging the financial technology capabilities of parent banks to promote digital transformation, achieving precise marketing and refined operations, thereby achieving high-quality sustainable development in intense market competition.

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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