Your ICBC dividends have been received! "Recently, several investors posted screenshots of the dividends received on social media platforms.

In recent years, the dividend ratio of bank stocks has been continuously increasing, and the ex dividend date has become a happy moment for many bank stock investors. Listed banks usually distribute their "red envelopes" for the year 2025 from June to July 2026, and by mid May, the dividends from the two banks have already been received.

On May 13th, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China issuing cash dividends for the end of 2025, the dividend distribution of A-share listed banks officially kicked off.

According to Wind data, the cash dividend scale of A-share listed banks will reach a new historical high in 2025. Among the 42 A-share listed banks, only Zhengzhou Bank stated that it will not distribute cash dividends. The remaining 41 banks will distribute a total of 645.636 billion yuan in cash dividends in 2025, an increase of approximately 13.043 billion yuan compared to 2024 (when Zhengzhou Bank distributed dividends).

Regarding the sustainability of high dividend ratios in banks, Yang Haiping, a special researcher at the Beijing Wealth Management Industry Association, told the Economic Observer that large banks and some high-quality small and medium-sized banks have strong sustainability in their high dividends due to their sound governance structures, strong strategic execution capabilities, and market tested risk control capabilities; And another part of small and medium-sized banks need to continue to strengthen interest cost control, increase bargaining power on the asset side, broaden non interest income, strengthen risk control, and stabilize profit levels.

Da Xing's dividend reaches a new high

ICBC has the most generous dividend distribution among bank stocks.

On May 6th, ICBC disclosed that it will distribute a final cash dividend of RMB 0.1689 (including tax) per share for the year 2025, with a total cash dividend of approximately RMB 60.197 billion. Among them, the number of ordinary shares in A-shares is about 269.6 billion, and the total cash dividends distributed for A-shares this time are about 45.538 billion yuan. Including the mid-term cash dividends already distributed in 2025, ICBC will distribute a total of 0.3103 yuan per share (including tax) in cash dividends throughout the year, with a total annual dividend payout of approximately 110.593 billion yuan.

On the same day, Agricultural Bank of China disclosed that it would distribute a year-end cash dividend of 0.13 yuan (including tax) per share, totaling approximately 45.498 billion yuan in cash dividends. Among them, the number of ordinary shares in A-shares is about 319.2 billion, and the total cash dividends distributed for A-shares this time are about 41.502 billion yuan.

Agricultural Bank of China has distributed a mid-term cash dividend of 0.1195 yuan per share (including tax) for 2025. Along with the final cash dividend, a cash dividend of 0.2495 yuan per share (including tax) will be distributed for the whole year of 2025, with a total common stock dividend of approximately 87.321 billion yuan (including tax) for the year.

The final dividend plan for 2025 announced by the other four major banks shows that Bank of China will distribute a dividend of 1.169 yuan per 10 shares, and a total of 37.667 billion yuan in cash dividends for the end of 2025 will be distributed; CCB distributed a dividend of 2.029 yuan for every 10 shares, totaling 53.079 billion yuan; Bank of Communications distributes 1.684 yuan per 10 shares, totaling 14.88 billion yuan; Postal Savings Bank of China distributes 0.953 yuan per 10 shares, totaling 11.445 billion yuan.

The six major state-owned banks remain the main beneficiaries of dividends. Including mid-term dividends, the total cash dividends of China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China reached 101.684 billion yuan, 72.917 billion yuan, 28.692 billion yuan, and 26.217 billion yuan, respectively.

In 2025, the dividend payout ratio of six state-owned banks will remain at 30% or above, with a total planned cash dividend of 427.423 billion yuan, accounting for 66.20% of the total dividend payout of A-share listed banks, an increase of 6.8 billion yuan compared to 2024. Among them, ICBC and CCB have exceeded 100 billion yuan for three consecutive years.

Multiple banks increase dividend ratios

While the dividend amount of major banks has reached a new high, several joint-stock and regional banks have also increased their dividend ratios in 2025.

Among the 9 listed stock companies, 7 have a dividend payout ratio of over 30%. The total cash dividends of 9 joint-stock banks in 2025 are RMB 149.055 billion, accounting for 23.09% of the total dividends of A-share listed banks.

Among them, China Merchants Bank has the highest dividend ratio. Based on a total share capital of approximately 25.22 billion shares as of the end of 2025, the bank's annual cash dividends amounted to approximately 50.843 billion yuan, accounting for 35.34% of the net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of the bank in 2025. In addition, China Merchants Bank's dividend amount ranks first among joint-stock banks and fifth among A-share listed banks, second only to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China.

In addition, the total cash dividend of Industrial Bank in 2025 is 22.56 billion yuan, accounting for 29.12% of the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company in the annual consolidated financial statements, and 31.02% of the net profit attributable to the common shareholders of the parent company in the annual consolidated financial statements; China CITIC Bank distributed a total of 21.201 billion yuan in cash dividends throughout the year, accounting for 30.02% of the net profit attributable to the bank's shareholders after the merger and 31.75% of the net profit attributable to the bank's common shareholders after the merger.

Compared with the strong capital strength and stable operating ability of large and medium-sized banks, many small and medium-sized banks have attracted investors' attention due to lower than expected dividend ratios. On the afternoon of May 11th, Guiyang Bank stated during the 2025 annual performance briefing held in an interactive online format that dividend issues have become the most concerning topic for investors. The cash dividends distributed in the 2025 distribution plan of Guiyang Bank accounted for 21.84% of the net profit attributable to the common shareholders of the parent company for the year (5.021 billion yuan), an increase of 0.36 percentage points compared to 2024.

For the reason why the dividend ratio is less than 30%, Guiyang Bank stated that firstly, it conforms to the trend of stricter capital supervision and further enhances its risk resistance ability; Secondly, the company is accelerating its transformation and development, retaining profits appropriately to supplement core tier one capital, ensuring the continuous replenishment of endogenous capital, which is conducive to accelerating strategic transformation and promoting high-quality sustainable development. After the budget allocation is implemented, the remaining undistributed profits are mainly used to supplement the core tier one capital, in order to enhance the company's risk resistance and value creation capabilities.

Among a group of bold bank stocks, Zhengzhou Bank has emerged as a "non dividend" company. Since its listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2018, Zhengzhou Bank has only distributed dividends in 2018, 2019, and 2024. According to the 2025 annual report of Zhengzhou Bank, the bank will not distribute cash dividends, give bonus shares, or convert capital reserves into shares.

Can high dividends be sustained

Investors not only pay attention to the dividend ratio, but also to the dividend yield of bank stocks, which is closely related to the trend of bank stocks.

From 2024 to 2025, bank stocks experienced nearly two years of sustained upward trend, but since November 2025, bank stocks have experienced a pullback, deviating from the overall market trend.

Lv Xiuhua, an analyst of West China Securities, said that the investment logic of bank shares has always been centered on "economic fundamentals are the root, liquidity environment is the driver, asset quality is the valuation anchor, and policy orientation is the catalyst". The successive sharp declines are the result of multiple resonances of negative factors, while the rise in the market is driven by multiple factors such as economic recovery, low valuations, and favorable policies.

Will future banking stocks still be attractive? According to Dai Zhifeng, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities, the business model and investment logic of bank stocks have shifted from "pro cyclical" to "weak cyclical": when the market is strong, bank stocks tend to be weak in the short term; But when the economy is relatively flat, high dividends from bank stocks will continue to be attractive.

In addition to the dividend ratio, investors are also concerned about whether the high dividend yield of bank stocks can be sustained. Liu Jun, the President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), stated at the performance conference that in terms of dividend returns, the overall return rate is far higher than comparable investment and wealth management products, indicating that ICBC has considerable investment value. ICBC will not stop here, it will continuously increase its wealth creation ability, continuously reflect investment value, and give back to the market.

Many analysts believe that the interest rate spread of banks has stabilized. According to a research report by CITIC Securities, the improvement in revenue and profits of listed banks has accelerated. In 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, the year-on-year growth rates of net profit attributable to shareholders of listed banks increased by 1.4% and 3.0% respectively. Among them, the operating revenue in the first quarter increased by 7.6% year-on-year, significantly exceeding expectations and creating positive conditions for improving the profit side.

Yang Haiping believes that based on the current situation, there are signs of stabilization in the net interest margin. However, whether the overall profit turning point of listed banks has emerged remains to be further observed.