The six major banks' dividend competition: Bank of Communications has the highest dividend yield, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has the largest dividend payout.

Hua Xia Times Reporter Liu Jia Beijing Report

As the annual reports of the six major state-owned banks for 2025 are all released, the “dividend payout” for the year has officially been finalized.

ICBC, ABC, BOC, CCB, BOCOM, and Postal Savings Bank paid a total of 427.42B yuan in dividends throughout the year, maintaining a stable dividend ratio of 30% or more. With tangible cash returns, they have become the undisputed “main force of dividends” in the A-share market.

“Initially, I bought bank stocks because of their high dividends and low valuations, wanting to earn dividends and use market value to participate in IPOs,” investor Xia Xia told Hua Xia Times. She mainly holds large state-owned banks, with a holding period of over three years. In her view, there’s no need to worry about short-term price fluctuations in bank stocks—“the stock price doesn’t need to rise, I get dividends on time every year. Reinvesting the dividends gradually increases the number of shares, and over the long term, the returns are not bad.”

The choices of ordinary investors reflect recognition of the steady and robust operating fundamentals of large state-owned banks. In 2025, the six major banks maintained overall profit growth, providing solid support for high proportion, large-scale cash dividends.

In the industry analysts’ view, the ability of listed banks to continuously expand dividend scales relies mainly on stable and solid operating performance; sustained large cash dividends can effectively enhance shareholders’ actual returns, further boosting investor confidence and experience.

Six Major Banks’ Dividends Exceed 420 Billion Yuan

In 2025, all six major state-owned banks achieved year-on-year growth in operating income and net profit attributable to the parent company, with total net profit reaching 1.42 trillion yuan, averaging over 14.2k yuan per day, demonstrating continued operational resilience.

Among them, ICBC achieved revenue of 838.27 billion yuan and net profit of 368.56 billion yuan for the year, remaining the largest; CCB followed with revenue of 761.04 billion yuan and net profit of 338.91 billion yuan; ABC’s revenue was 725.31 billion yuan with a net profit of 291.04 billion yuan, leading in growth among the six; BOC’s revenue was 658.31 billion yuan with a net profit of 243.02 billion yuan, showing outstanding revenue growth; BOCOM and Postal Savings Bank posted net profits of 95.62 billion yuan and 87.40 billion yuan respectively, with steadily increasing profitability.

In terms of asset quality, the non-performing loan ratios of the six banks remained stable overall, with sufficient loan loss provisions, strong risk resistance, and reliable guarantees for sustained dividends.

Solid operating results translated into real cash returns for shareholders.

In 2025, the combined cash dividends of the six major state-owned banks reached 3.9B yuan, with all maintaining dividend ratios of 30% or above. This continued the recent trend of “high proportion, large scale, and sustainability” in dividends, making them the most representative high-dividend sector in the A-share market.

Specifically, ICBC led with a total dividend payout of 427.42B yuan, distributing 3.103 yuan per 10 shares (tax included), maintaining its long-standing dividend scale advantage; CCB followed with 110.59B yuan in dividends, distributing 3.887 yuan per 10 shares (tax included), with stable dividend strength; ABC paid 101.68B yuan in dividends, with 2.495 yuan per 10 shares (tax included), with profit growth and dividend scale rising in tandem; BOC, BOCOM, and Postal Savings Bank paid dividends of 87.32B yuan, 72.92B yuan, and 28.69B yuan respectively, with per-10-share dividends of 2.263 yuan, 3.247 yuan, and 2.183 yuan (all tax included), all disclosed in annual reports.

Regarding dividend ratios, the six banks continued to maintain a stable level of 30% or above, with BOCOM’s dividend ratio reaching 32.3%, slightly higher than peers; the other five banks remained around 30%.

Dividend policies are also a focus of market attention. At the earnings release, Zhang Baojiang, Vice Chairman, Executive Director, and President of BOCOM, stated: “BOCOM always attaches great importance to investor returns. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we distributed a total of 123.9 billion yuan in cash dividends to all shareholders. In the second half of this year, we will distribute dividends for 2025 to all shareholders, with the dividend payout ratio at 32.3% of net profit attributable to common shareholders, maintaining this level for 14 consecutive years.”

“Going forward, we will continue to improve management, enhance value creation, and provide more stable performance and consistent dividend returns to investors,” Zhang said.

At the 2025 annual performance conference, Liu Jun, President of ICBC, told Hua Xia Times and other reporters that the bank would make dynamic dividend adjustments based on market conditions. “For the long-term healthy development of the capital market, if there is market demand, ICBC, as a market leader, will adjust the dividend payout ratio upward accordingly. We will respond quickly to market needs and ideas. If our adjustments promote healthier and sustained market development, ICBC will set an example and help the capital market grow better.”

“Being a leading bank, such large-scale dividends demonstrate profitability and focus on shareholder returns, reflecting strong operational stability and financial strength, which helps boost investor confidence in the banking sector,” said Jiang Han, senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, in an analysis for Hua Xia Times.

“The dividend payout of over 420 billion yuan by the six major banks in 2025 directly reflects their operational resilience and is a strong reward for shareholders’ long-term trust,” Yuan Shuai, Deputy Director of Investment at China Urban Development Research Institute, told Hua Xia Times. As the backbone of China’s financial system, these banks have maintained stable earnings output amid complex market conditions. Their massive dividends are backed by solid fundamentals, a large customer base, extensive branch networks, and prudent risk management, supporting stable cash flow and profit scales. This record high dividend scale not only sets a new historical high but also demonstrates the “cash cow” trait amid market volatility, providing a confidence boost for investors seeking steady returns.

“From an industry perspective, the high dividends of the six major banks also send positive signals, showing confidence in their own development and setting a benchmark for value investing in the entire capital market. They guide funds to focus on fundamentals and long-term gains rather than short-term speculation,” Yuan added.

High Dividend Crossing Rate Hitting Downturn Cycles

For ordinary investors, complex financial statements and macroeconomic analyses are difficult to interpret, while dividend yield, as the most direct and easy-to-understand indicator of investment returns, has become their core criterion for choosing bank stocks.

Another investor, Jing Cheng, told reporters: “I don’t understand other parameters, I just look at the dividend yield. Receiving dividends every year makes me feel secure.”

Based on the closing price of A-shares on March 30, 2026, the dividend yields of the six major banks ranged from 3.8% to 4.7%.

Specifically, BOCOM had the highest dividend yield at 4.66%; Postal Savings Bank, ICBC, and CCB all exceeded 4%, at 4.30%, 4.10%, and 4.09% respectively; BOC and ABC had dividend yields of 3.99% and 3.84%. However, as stock prices fluctuate, dividend yields will also adjust, and the rankings may change accordingly.

It is worth noting that in the context of a persistently low interest rate environment, the current risk-free yield and returns on fixed-income products are generally low.

As of the end of March 2026, the savings deposit interest rates of the six major banks were only 0.05%; 3-year and 5-year fixed-term deposit rates were 1.25% and 1.3%; meanwhile, 3-year and 5-year government bonds issued as certificates of deposit had yields of 1.63% and 1.70%; stable bank wealth management products had annualized yields concentrated between 1.3% and 2.8%.

In stark contrast, the high dividend advantage of the six major banks becomes even more prominent—generally about three times the 5-year fixed deposit rate and more than 2.3 times the 5-year government bond yield, significantly higher than mainstream wealth management returns.

“I did a simple calculation: putting money into a one-year fixed deposit yields very little; but buying bank stocks at the current dividend yield, the return is more than three times that of fixed deposits, and dividends are very stable every year,” Jing Cheng told reporters. For ordinary people like him who are not professional investors, there’s no need to worry about market fluctuations or analyze complex data—just holding bank stocks means receiving real cash returns every year.

Even Liu Jun openly stated that, based on ICBC’s PB ratio and dividend yield, the overall return rate is far higher than comparable investment and wealth management products, indicating ICBC’s considerable investment value.

“In the current environment where the 10-year government bond yield is about 1.81% and the one-year fixed deposit rate is below 1%, the 4% dividend yield of the six major banks has a clear advantage,” Jiang Han said. From the perspective of dividend yield, compared to government bonds and fixed deposits, the dividend income from the six banks is higher, providing investors with more substantial cash returns and making them highly attractive in the capital market—an excellent choice for those seeking steady income.

“The high dividend yield of the six major banks not only offers significant advantages in asset allocation but also acts as a ‘safe haven’ amid market volatility. For long-term funds like pension funds and insurance capital, it is highly attractive. It can be said that in today’s capital market, the dividend yield of the six major banks has become a scarce high-yield asset, offering investors a combination of safety and returns,” Yuan added.

The Hua Xia Times reporter also summarized the performance of bank stocks in the first quarter of this year. According to WIND data, from the beginning of the year to March 30, the stocks of the six major state-owned banks generally declined, with only CCB slightly rising over 2%.

Despite short-term price fluctuations, Jiang Han said that considering the stabilization of net interest margins and moderate profit recovery in 2025, the dividend scale and dividend yield of the six banks in 2026 are expected to remain stable or slightly increase. “If profits continue to improve, banks will have more profits available for dividends. Of course, there might be some downward adjustments due to business expansion needs, but the probability of large cuts is low, and banks will weigh multiple factors comprehensively.”

Regarding investment opportunities in the banking sector, the Bank Research Team of Guotai Haitong Securities stated in a report that currently, half of the banking stocks have a dividend yield above 4.5%, highlighting their long-term allocation value; with the possibility of upward revisions in the annual economic outlook, banking stocks can serve as a cyclicality option. It is expected that in 2026, as risk appetite in the capital market improves, stock valuations will diverge from convergence, with those possessing strong credit demand, potential for liability cost reduction, clear asset quality inflection points, or active market value management, likely to generate significant excess returns.