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Karen Tian

China’s most profitable brokerage, and until recently its largest by assets, has become the first mainland securities firm to enter the A-category under Fitch Ratings’ framework, a milestone in China’s efforts to build globally competitive investment banks.
Fitch, one of the world’s three major ratings agencies, assigned an A-minus long-term issuer default rating with a “stable” outlook to both Citic Securities and its Hong Kong-based subsidiary Citic Securities International on Tuesday.
Fitch’s A-category is its highest rating class; the B-category has historically been the ceiling for mainland Chinese brokerages.
Prior to the rating upgrades on Tuesday, mainland brokerages were generally concentrated in Fitch’s BBB+ category, including China International Capital Corporation and China Securities.
The development comes as Beijing seeks to build a “financial powerhouse” and “cultivate first-class investment banks and investment institutions”, goals that feature prominently in China’s 15th five-year plan and broader financial reform agenda.
Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has also called on the industry to “strive to foster a number of leading institutions with significant international influence” during the plan period.
Fitch said the rating reflected its expectation that Citic Securities would receive strong support from the parent company Citic Group, a key state-owned financial conglomerate, in times of stress, said Rowena Chang, a director at Fitch Ratings for the Asia-Pacific.
Citic Group, the brokerage’s parent company, is one of China’s largest state-owned conglomerates, with more than 12 trillion yuan (US$1.8 trillion) in assets. Fitch described Citic Securities as one of the group’s two “core financial pillars”, alongside China Citic Bank. It said it played an important role in supporting the development of China’s capital markets and “broadening direct financing channels”.
The ratings agency cited Citic Securities’ “market-leading franchise”, “diversified revenue mix” and “expanding international presence” as strengths supporting its credit profile.

Fitch added that the firm’s stand-alone profile remained weaker than its “support-driven” rating, reflecting the cyclical nature of the securities business and the still-developing state of China’s capital markets, despite “sound” capitalisation and liquidity.
“Profitability has improved amid China’s stronger capital market,” Chang said, adding that the ratio of operating income to average equity rose to 15.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 9.9 per cent in 2024, supported by a “robust risk-control framework” and improving market conditions.
Fitch added that a downgrade of China’s sovereign rating, or a weakening in the government’s willingness or ability to support Citic Group, could put pressure on Citic Securities’ ratings. Moody’s revised its outlook on China’s sovereign credit rating to “stable” from “negative” in April.
Citic Securities said its rating upgrade reflected international capital markets’ recognition of its operating strength, risk-control framework and internationalisation efforts.
Last month, Citic Securities unveiled a 16 billion yuan share placement, the largest equity fundraising by a Chinese brokerage since the firm’s own 28 billion yuan fundraising in 2022, with all proceeds earmarked for international operations including prime brokerage, market making and cross-border financing.
The company said the A-minus rating would help “broaden offshore funding channels” and lower cross-border financing costs while enhancing its competitiveness in international markets.
Chinese brokerages have increasingly stepped up overseas expansion as they seek to build global capabilities and compete more effectively in international markets.
Earlier this year, GF Securities announced plans to inject up to HK$6.1 billion (US$778.4 million) into its Hong Kong subsidiary, while Huatai Securities raised HK$10 billion through a convertible bond offering to support international expansion, highlighting a broader industry push to build globally competitive investment banks with greater international influence.


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Award of an A-minus rating seen as a milestone in China’s efforts to build globally competitive investment banks


Award of an A-minus rating seen as a milestone in China’s efforts to build globally competitive investment banks.


Citic Securities breaks Fitch’s rating ceiling with first ‘A’ category for Chinese brokerage

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Award of an A-minus rating seen as a milestone in China’s efforts to build globally competitive investment banks

Award of an A-minus rating seen as a milestone in China’s efforts to build globally competitive investment banks