Chinese Banks Use Satellites to Monitor Loan Collateral Assets

Chinese banks are turning to satellite technology to evaluate and monitor terrestrial assets serving as collateral for loans, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. This method helps banks assess the status of properties, vehicles, and other assets to ensure their viability in case of defaults.

China Merchants Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank began using satellites for this purpose in 2026. They follow Ping An Bank, which launched its use in 2022, and Zhejiang E-Commerce Bank, which entered satellite remote-sensing technology in 2020.

Additionally, the Postal Savings Bank of China and Chang Guang Satellite Technology jointly developed and sent a satellite into space in April 2026, as reported by the Economic Observer.

Access to satellite-aided remote sensing has grown since the commercialization of China's space technology began in 2014. High-resolution satellite images allow banks to gauge the condition of loan collateral, including agricultural land, real estate project progress, and industrial activity.

Liang Yan, a professor of economics at Willamette University in the United States, stated that the goal is to reduce non-performing loans and better assess rural and small business markets where traditional credit records may be incomplete.

“My understanding is that some banks use proprietary satellites and remote sensing to monitor borrower-collateral assets – such as agricultural land, construction progress on real estate projects and industrial activity – to assess and control credit risks of their loans.”

This shift occurs as some of China's largest banks deal with high levels of bad assets in their property-loan portfolios during an ongoing real estate slump. Non-performing loans in China reached 1.5 percent at the end of 2025, up from a record low of 0.9 percent in 2011 but below the record high of 12.4 percent in 2005, according to economic data provider CEIC Data.