CITIC Securities earnings conference signals strong confidence, leverage ratio has "room" compared to international investment banks, and maintains resolve to pursue integration

Ask AI · How will CITIC Securities’ leverage ratio increase reshape its global competitiveness?

Caixin-Linked (3월 27日讯（记者 高艳云） With record-high performance and unprecedented dividend strength, CITIC Securities, at the start of the “15th Five-Year Plan period,” has drawn up a new blueprint for becoming a world-class investment bank.

On March 27, CITIC Securities held its 2025 annual results briefing in Hong Kong. Attending were CITIC Securities Chairman Zhang Youjun, General Manager Zou Yingguang, Finance负责人 Zhang Hao, Board Secretary Wang Junfeng, Company Executive Committee member and Chairman of CITIC Securities International Li Chunbo, and the head of the Planning Finance Department Xi Zhiying. They engaged in in-depth exchanges with investors and the media.

The briefing contained a wealth of information. Management not only interpreted record-breaking performance and dividends, but also, more importantly, addressed key market concerns such as the “15th Five-Year Plan” development plan, its internationalization strategy, the path to improving ROE, and the competitive landscape in the industry.

Regarding the balanced development of heavy- and light-capital businesses, Zhang Youjun said clearly that the company will seize policy opportunities and market openings, maintain the steady and sustainable development of its heavy-capital business, and at the same time strive for a further leap forward in its light-capital business.

In response to competitive pressure brought by resource consolidation among leading brokerage firms, Zou Yingguang said that CITIC Securities will maintain strategic focus, accurately grasp the major trends in industry development, make full use of regulatory authorities’ policy support for high-quality brokerages, and, without wavering, drive high-quality development through three core measures: “improving quality and efficiency, strengthening competition, and expanding internationally.”

In light of the booming growth of international business for the securities industry, multiple senior executives at CITIC Securities reached a consensus: the company will solidly advance its internationalization strategy, consolidate the development advantages of Hong Kong, and also invest more resources in the Asia-Pacific and Europe and the Americas regions. It will focus on strengthening the development of its business network, service ecosystem, and management mechanisms to continuously enhance its cross-border comprehensive financial services capability.

On the performance front, CITIC Securities’ ROE has increased to double-digit levels, reaching 10.59%. Zhang Hao said that the company will steadily improve ROE from three aspects, including growing and strengthening the light-capital business, developing capital base businesses of high quality, and continuously enhancing its lean management capabilities.

When discussing the leverage ratio, he acknowledged that the company’s overall leverage ratio is still at a lower level than that of internationally top-tier investment banks, leaving room for a reasonable increase. The company’s overall leverage ratio is below 5x, while internationally top-tier investment banks are generally above 10x.

Key Takeaway 1: Target the “15th Five-Year Plan” in six dimensions and unleash efforts across the board

With regard to the “15th Five-Year Plan” as a crucial historical milestone, Chairman Zhang Youjun set the tone for CITIC Securities’ future development. He said that over the five years of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” CITIC Securities’ asset quality, profitability, role fulfillment, and brand influence all moved to new heights. Going forward in the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the company has also decided to do a set of corresponding tasks in six areas.

Specifically, first, it will achieve new breakthroughs in serving the national agenda; second, it will deliver new accomplishments in fulfilling its mission and responsibilities; third, it will introduce new engines in strengthening core capabilities; fourth, it will show new results in expanding global布局; fifth, it will achieve new enhancements in using technology to empower businesses; and sixth, it will take new initiatives to improve management effectiveness.

On the balance between light- and heavy-capital businesses, Zhang Youjun further added that the company will seize policy timing and development opportunities, and maintain the sustained stability of its heavy-capital business development. Meanwhile, the company will also achieve leapfrog development in its light-capital businesses, working to realize coordinated development between light and heavy capital and comprehensively enhance the company’s core competitiveness.

For AI enablement, which the market has paid close attention to, Zhang Youjun emphasized that the company will focus on digital and intelligent transformation, promote the building of financial infrastructure, and drive deep integration between cutting-edge technology and business development. It will accelerate the application and rollout of AI technology across all kinds of business scenarios, optimizing and reshaping business processes through digital and intelligent means.

Key Takeaway 2: Drive high-quality development through three major initiatives—unswervingly

Facing accelerating consolidation in the securities industry and an increasingly clear competitive landscape characterized by head effects, General Manager Zou Yingguang showed full confidence. He noted that as a leading industry institution, CITIC Securities will maintain strategic focus, accurately grasp the major trends of industry development, make full use of regulatory authorities’ policy support for high-quality brokerages, and, without wavering, promote the company’s high-quality development through three core initiatives: improving quality and efficiency, strengthening competition, and expanding internationally.

Specifically, first, it will adhere to improving quality and efficiency, deepen the发挥 of core functions, and enhance the effectiveness of comprehensive financial services. Second, it will adhere to “strengthening competition,” balance the layout of light- and heavy-capital businesses, and comprehensively enhance core competitiveness. Third, it will adhere to “expanding internationally,” deepen its global layout, and push its internationalization strategy to go deeper and deliver on the ground.

Zou Yingguang further explained that the company will strengthen its Hong Kong business, build the Asia-Pacific hub, and expand its global network to enrich the diversity of overseas-market business offerings. It will solidify a global compliance and risk control system, fully serve the two-way needs of “outbound” Chinese-funded clients and “inbound” foreign capital, and continuously enhance the company’s global brand influence.

Key Takeaway 3: Fully support the development of technological innovation and new quality productive forces

Zou Yingguang emphasized that as a leading securities company, CITIC Securities will fully leverage its specialized capabilities in investment banking, investment, research, asset management, and other businesses, and fully support the development of national technological innovation and new quality productive forces.

Specific initiatives include four areas: first, fully leverage the function of being a “main service provider” for direct financing, providing financing support across the full lifecycle for enterprises behind new quality productive forces. Second, fully leverage the “source of fresh water” function of its investment business, injecting long-term capital and patient capital into enterprises behind new quality productive forces. Third, fully leverage the value-discovery function of its research business, building a bridge for capital market communication for enterprises behind new quality productive forces. Fourth, fully leverage the capital guidance function of its asset management business, creating a favorable market ecosystem for enterprises behind new quality productive forces.

Key Takeaway 4: Total dividends exceeding RMB 93 billion since listing

In 2025, CITIC Securities’ total cash dividend amounted to RMB 10.37B, accounting for 35.73% of net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of the listed company in its consolidated financial statements for 2025. After deducting the cash dividends of RMB 4.3B already distributed in mid-2025, the remaining cash dividends to be distributed are RMB 6.08B. Compared with dividends for 2024, the total dividends for 2025 increased by nearly 35% year-on-year, setting the highest dividend record since the company was founded.

It is understood that since its A-share listing in 2003, the company has conducted cash dividends for 24 consecutive years, with cumulative dividends implemented exceeding RMB 93 billion. In recent years, the proportion of cash dividends has remained at around 35%.

Zhang Hao said that next, the company will, in accordance with regulatory policy and the company’s governance mechanism requirements, maintain the stability and transparency of its dividend policy. Through normalized and standardized dividend arrangements, it will effectively enhance investors’ confidence, strengthen the company’s long-term investment value, and serve the high-quality development of the capital market.

Key Takeaway 5: Play well the roles of “service provider,” “gatekeeper,” and “manager”

The “15th Five-Year Plan” Outline for Building a Financial Power System provides a systematic deployment to accelerate the building of a financial power and explicitly proposes to “vigorously develop technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, retirement finance, and digital finance.” Zou Yingguang said that in 2025, CITIC Securities anchored to the goal of building a financial power, empowering the real economy with professional capabilities, and achieved positive results in deepening its “five major areas of major articles.”

Specifically, in technology finance, CITIC Securities adheres to聚力 toward innovation, providing financial services across the full lifecycle for hard-tech enterprises. In green finance, the company adheres to low-carbon leadership and accelerates the construction of a full-chain green finance services system. In inclusive finance, CITIC Securities adheres to finance for the people, helping residents preserve and enhance wealth. In retirement finance, the company adheres with care, fully participating in the development of a multi-level retirement security system. In digital finance, the company adheres to moving with intelligence, continuously improving its service level through digital and intelligent transformation.

Zou Yingguang said that building a financial power requires the securities industry to continuously strengthen its sense of mission and responsibility. The company will firmly grasp national strategic guidance, and based on the historical positioning of “national rise and fall, finance has responsibility,” it will play the roles of the securities company as a main “service provider” for direct financing, an important “gatekeeper” of the capital market, and a professional “manager” of social wealth. It will accelerate the building of a first-class investment bank and investment institution, and help build a financial power with the achievements of high-quality development.

Key Takeaway 6: ROE improved to double-digit levels

In 2025, CITIC Securities’ full-year ROE reached 10.59%, up 2.5 percentage points year-on-year. Zhang Hao said that the company will always stay true to its original mission of serving the real economy, focus on its core responsibilities and main business, and work to steadily improve ROE levels.

First, grow and strengthen the light-capital business, and continuously invest efforts in investment banking, wealth management, asset management, and other businesses. It will optimize the business structure and revenue model, and leverage the advantages of professional service capabilities and client resources to build differentiated competitiveness, providing stable support for ROE improvement.

Second, develop capital base businesses of high quality, enrich transaction strategies, increase the proportion of non-trend-based income, enhance its ability to withstand cyclical market volatility, and continuously strengthen investment resilience and value-judgment capability. It will improve the efficiency of capital use and drive an improvement in profitability.

Third, continuously strengthen its lean management capability: deepen cost control and the overall allocation of resources, improve operating efficiency and the level of refined management, and lay a foundation for continuously and steadily improving ROE.

Key Takeaway 7: There is still reasonable room to improve the leverage ratio

Not long ago, at the eighth members’ meeting of the Securities Association, Chairman Wu Qing of the CSRC clearly proposed optimizing evaluation indicators for high-quality institutions, appropriately widening capital space and leverage ceilings, and improving capital utilization efficiency. Zhang Hao said this will inject important momentum into the high-quality development of domestic brokerage firms, especially high-quality brokerages at the top of the market.

He disclosed that currently, the overall leverage level in China’s securities industry remains in a relatively low range. By the end of 2025, CITIC Securities’ overall leverage ratio was also less than 5x. Compared with the leverage levels of internationally top-tier investment banks, which are above 10x, there is still reasonable room for improvement. Proper leverage use can improve capital utilization efficiency, enhance the competitiveness of the company’s core businesses, and increase the company’s综合 ability to serve the real economy. This is an important support for achieving strategic goals of becoming a first-class investment bank and investment institution.

Zhang Hao emphasized that the company will strictly comply with regulatory requirements. On the basis of controllable risk and steady operations, it will adhere to the fundamental purpose of serving real-economy financing needs. It will focus on promoting the development of customer-demand-driven businesses such as margin financing and securities lending, FICC, and equity derivatives. It will deepen and implement its global development strategy, steadily support the development of cross-border investment and financing and global asset allocation, adhere to capital constraints and the bottom line of risk compliance, and strive to achieve synchronous improvement in capital utilization efficiency, business development quality, and the ability to serve the real economy.

Key Takeaway 8: Work hard to build the preferred investment bank for “investing in China” and “investing China”

Internationalization has become an important business growth engine for Chinese-funded brokerages. In recent years, CITIC Securities’ international business has grown rapidly. Zhang Youjun said that looking ahead, CITIC Securities will focus on strengthening the development of its business network, service ecosystem, and management mechanisms, continuously improve its cross-border comprehensive financial service capabilities, and work to build a preferred investment bank for “investing in China” and “investing China.”

Specifically, first, it will improve diversified business networks covering major global markets, enrich product supply in the Asia-Pacific region, and steadily advance its business layout in Europe and the Americas to further broaden its global service coverage. Second, it will build an integrated global comprehensive service ecosystem, deepen linkage between domestic and overseas businesses, and create an end-to-end cross-border service model, especially strengthening core competitiveness in areas such as cross-border investment and financing and derivatives trading. Third, it will strengthen and完善 the management system adapted to internationalization development, improve global integrated management, and accelerate the construction of a globally unified risk compliance management platform. At the same time, it will strengthen the building of international talent teams to provide solid support for the development of international business.

Zhang Youjun also candidly acknowledged that promoting internationalization will inevitably face challenges in complex geopolitical issues, market volatility, and industry competition. CITIC Securities will also anchor to its goals and solidly prepare the organizational structure, human resources, and capital fund arrangements that are compatible with internationalization. It will always focus on clients’ needs, optimize cross-border service experience, and accelerate building “a China investment bank trusted most by global clients, leading within the country and first-class internationally.”

Performance data shows that for full-year 2025, CITIC Securities International achieved operating revenue of USD 3.3 billion and net profit of USD 0.9 billion, both setting new historical highs, up 48% and 72% year-on-year, respectively. At the same time, CITIC Securities International’s contribution to CITIC Securities’ overall revenue and profit ratios has further increased, reaching 18% and 21%, respectively.

Regarding development thinking for the Hong Kong market and markets outside Hong Kong, Li Chunbo said that CITIC Securities International will implement a series of initiatives around enhancing product competitiveness, professionalism, and global operating capabilities. In Hong Kong, the company will actively expand new products and new strategies, and continuously seize opportunities in interconnection and interoperability business to provide more comprehensive services for mainland companies “going global” and overseas capital “bringing in.” It will build a higher-tier, more complex product system, continuously enhance the company’s overall service competitiveness, and grow and strengthen its Hong Kong business.

In other international markets outside Hong Kong, the company will continue to accelerate business layout, increase resource投入 into the Asia-Pacific market, and promote steady development in markets such as Singapore and the UK. It will build an international business layout characterized by “multi-region coordination,” and drive national business structure and revenue structure to become more balanced.

In addition, Zou Yingguang said that CITIC Securities has always regarded serving medium- and long-term capital entering the market as an important lever for the company to fulfill its mission of “securing the country through finance.” It will fully leverage its full-license and full-industrial-chain professional advantages. It will precisely make efforts in three areas: asset supply, professional services, and investment management, and drive the concept of “long money, long-term investment” deeper and more solidly into the capital market.

Wang Junfeng said that in 2025, CITIC Securities strictly implemented regulatory requirements and continuously improved its market value management system.

First, focus on “improving quality and efficiency, and returning value to investors,” and build a solid foundation for the company’s long-term value. Second, optimize information disclosure mechanisms to convey the investment value of the company’s high-quality development. Third, strengthen investor communication and build an open, multi-dimensional investor relations and interaction system. Fourth, deepen innovative practice exploration and build high-quality market value management exchange activities. In the future, CITIC Securities will, in combination with regulatory policies and its own circumstances, promote a more scientific market value management framework and more efficient execution, striving to create more sustainable and steady investment value for a broad base of shareholders.

（Caixin-Linked reporter 高艳云）