“The original purpose of the strategic reform project was to continue Ping An Bank's good business model and profit model, maintain business continuity, face up to and resolve past problems, and make Ping An Bank more unique and competitive. The reform process has overcome many difficulties, maintained orderly business development, and has now achieved phased results. In the future, investors and media are welcome to strengthen supervision and provide suggestions for Ping An Bank.”

On March 15, Ping An Bank held the 2023 annual results conference, launching the first round of disclosure of the banking industry's annual report. Facing tens of thousands of online and offline investors and media reporters, Ji Guangheng, Party Secretary and Governor of Ping An Bank, attended the press conference to comprehensively and thoroughly summarize Ping An Bank's operations over the past year. In particular, Ji Guangheng responded to the three dimensions of “performance, reform, and initiative.”

Overall performance is in line with expectations

Regarding performance, Ji Guangheng said,2023Ping An BankOverall results are in line with expectations.Net profit for the whole year was 46.5 billion yuan, up 2.1% year on year; total assets were 5.57 trillion yuan, up 4.7% year on year; non-performing ratio was 1.06%, provision coverage rate was 278%, and overall asset quality maintained a good level; the capital adequacy ratio continued to increase, and the core tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 9.22%, an increase of 0.58 percentage points year on year.

“Ping An Bank's net interest spread and revenue declined year-on-year due to factors such as continued fee cuts and concessions, asset structure adjustments, and market fluctuations. On this basis, we actively respond to market changes. On the one hand, we continuously optimize credit investment and customer service, promote digital transformation and empower businesses, and consolidate the revenue base; on the other hand, we continuously optimize costs, implement refined management, focus more on medium- and low-risk customer groups, and strictly control risk costs. Considering the post-cycle characteristics of the industry, it is expected that the banking industry will still be under high operating pressure in 2024.Ping An Bank will continue to overcome difficulties, optimize business quality, and achieve reasonable volume growth and effective quality improvement.” Ji Guangheng said so.

summedThree itemsResults of the reform

Since the second half of 2023, Ping An Bank has launched a strategic reform project, and the outside world is paying close attention. In this regard, Ji Guang specifically pointed out thatThe original purpose of the strategic reform project was to continue Ping An Bank's good business model and profit model, maintain business continuity, face up to and resolve some of the problems accumulated during the past period of rapid development, and make Ping An Bank more unique and competitive. Based on thorough research and analysis, the entire project has overcome many difficulties and maintained orderly business development during the reform process, and has now achieved some phased results.

First,Always maintain strategic strength, seek steady progress, and break first.Ji Guangheng said that Ping An Bank adheres to the strategic policy of “strengthening retail, refining the public sector, and specialising in the industry”, and the “three major sectors” are developing steadily.retail business，Focus on the three major directions of “restructuring, improving quality, and increasing efficiency”. Through measures such as loan transformation, small and micro breakthroughs, and strengthening wealth, etc., we will continue to improve the asset structure, strengthen cost control, upgrade product rights and platform tools, and strive to achieve a comprehensive business model of “multiple customers, multiple channels, multiple accounts, and multiple products”;Business to the public，Continue to expand assets and customer size, strive to “refine the industry, improve customers, and refine products”, and continue to deepen the long-term public-private linkage mechanism;fundsInterbank business，Adhere to the “two-wheel drive” of investment transactions and customer business, give full play to the unique advantages of market making transactions, maintain steady growth, optimize profit structures, extend the institutional customer service chain, and extend the connotation of financial interbank business.

Second, use the organizational structure as the key starting point to streamline the head office and strengthen the branches.According to Ji Guangheng, as an important vehicle for strategy implementation, an excellent organizational structure can better serve development strategies and business strategies. Through a series of measures, Ping An Bank has streamlined its head office structure and achieved three major goals:First, the general branch functions have been transformed, the head office was transformed into a service-oriented and enabling organization to provide the branch with backup security and management support in terms of personnel, finance, insurance, price, etc.;The second is the transformation of branches into business entitiesIt has become the main battleground for territorial relationships, customers, business and resource concentration, giving full play to subjective activism and regional characteristics, better meet customer needs, and support territorial economic development;The third is to strengthen overall score collaboration, rationalize the relationship between the head office and branches, break down line barriers, change the “shaft” management system, and change the business model from focusing on lines to focusing on branches. Resolve core conflicts of interest and clear the transmission of will of all branches; improve the comprehensive management capabilities of branches by increasing branch authorization, customizing resources for key branches, and providing additional policies and requirements.

Third, with the goal of increasing revenue and saving expenses, the level of refined management is raised through reforms.Ji Guangheng pointed out that in the coming period, the key driving factors for banks' profit growth will be on the cost side, including a reduction in risk costs and non-risk costs. Through this reform, Ping An Bank lays out early to raise the level of refined management and free up space for cost management. In terms of risk costs, improve the quality of the customer base, optimize the risk structure, and achieve significant optimization of the risk-cost-revenue ratio, focusing on multi-level risk management for customers and establishing new risk models; in terms of non-risk costs, one is to reduce human resources costs through streamlining the structure and increasing profit generation per capita; the second is to focus on optimizing precise marketing models, optimizing workplace rental layout, and improving the level of technology commissioning.

submitFour business initiatives

Ji Guangheng believes that in 2024, as various policies continue to be implemented and gradually show results, the positive trend of economic recovery will be further consolidated and strengthened. In response, he proposed“Party building leadership, strategic implementation, team building, improving quality and efficiency”The 16-character management initiative also continuously tracks, regularly reviews, and promptly corrects the implementation of strategic initiatives to ensure successful transformation.

First,Comprehensive strengtheningParty building leads.Deeply grasp the political and popular nature of financial work, promote high-quality financial development, and enhance the quality and efficiency of financial services in the real economy. The first is guided by national policies, focusing on increasing support for the real economy, making every effort to complete the “Five Major Articles”, actively implementing real estate financing coordination mechanisms, strengthening resource integration, speeding up business layout, reducing costs and benefiting enterprises and the people. Second, strictly implement regulatory requirements, adhere to a bottom-line mentality, pursue a long-term approach, comprehensively strengthen risk and compliance management, and maintain continuous stability in asset quality.

The day of the press conference coincided with March 15 Consumer Rights Day. Ji Guangheng pointed out that Ping An Bank attaches great importance to consumer rights protection and takes the “finance for the people” concept as the starting point and foothold of consumer insurance work. In the future, it will further implement the main consumer insurance responsibilities, strengthen sales appropriateness management, and integrate the concept of sustainable development into the company's operations and management.

second，Accelerate strategy implementation.Ping An Bank will continue to explore new sustainable growth paths for the three major business lines of retail, public, and interbank, study differentiated development models, and enhance risk control capabilities.

In terms of retail,The first is to integrate and develop the consumer credit sector to deepen customer operations and increase the proportion of high-value customers and customer stickiness; the second is to adjust retail mortgage management strategies and asset allocation, and dynamically adjust regional strategies; and the third is to upgrade credit products around small and micro customer groups to build new retail credit growth points;On the public sideThe first is to implement a hierarchical classification management system for public customers, focus on strategic customer business, and make every effort to increase the number of credit granting customers and valuable customers; the second is to optimize assessment and incentive policies to strengthen assessment guidance for high-quality customer groups; and the third is to strictly abide by the risk bottom line and improve the efficiency of business approval;On the side of peers,Strengthen investment capacity building, enhance trading strategies and allocation capabilities, enrich trading varieties and interbank asset investment, increase investment returns, and maximize customer service radius and professionalism.

third，Strengthen team building.The core of management development is talent. Establishing a clear employment orientation is conducive to guiding the direction of strategic reform without deviation and promoting the rapid implementation of strategic initiatives. Ji Guangheng said that Ping An Bank will match the company's strategy and use comprehensive capabilities as a necessary condition for selecting talents. Optimize the selection mechanism, and employ people from all over the world, focusing on discovering and selecting young talents and promoting the recruitment of fresh graduates; at the same time, emphasis is placed on rotation and capacity improvement. Head office cadres and talents sink to the front line to enhance cadres' ability to fight comprehensively, coordinate, and settle accounts smartly. Clarify evaluation standards, establish a full-chain assessment process, explore differentiated and diversified incentive methods, and stabilize the talent team.

fourth，Do a good job of improving quality and efficiency.Ping An Bank will change its management consciousness, adhere to a steady risk appetite, not pursue short-term benefits excessively, formulate corresponding strategies and key projects for risk costs and non-risk costs, expand medium- and low-risk products, establish a solid foundation of asset quality, and properly mitigate retail stock risks. Relying on transformation projects such as fine management and digital operation, we establish and consolidate absolute cost and efficiency advantages, achieve cost output efficiency in leading industries, and continuously consolidate the foundation for high-quality development.

Share results and give back to shareholders

Based on firm confidence in Ping An Bank's future development prospects and long-term investment value, the interests of investors are effectively protected. At the end of his speech, Ji Guangheng also announced good news to the majority of shareholders:Ping An Bank will increase the dividend ratio to 30%.

In response, he said that Ping An Bank has always been willing to increase the dividend ratio and share the company's development results. Since profits were needed to supplement capital in the past, the ratio was not high. The capital adequacy ratio improved in 2023. We will increase the dividend ratio to 30% to share Ping An Bank's development dividends and return the majority of shareholders.

For a long time, professional investors and media organizations have been an important force in promoting the high-quality development of listed companies. Ji Guangheng attached great importance to this. He stressed that for listed companies, investor and media supervision is essential, and relevant professionals are welcome to strengthen supervision and actively suggest suggestions and suggestions for Ping An Bank.

prospectfuture, Ji GuanghengPoint out，The banking business environment is still facing challenges in 2024. Ping An Bank will continue to make every effort to maintain steady operation.ensuringImplement strategic reforms, improve business performance, actively optimize capital efficiency and return, and strive to create greater value for investors.