By May 20, 2026, four listed banks have implemented their year-end 2025 dividend distributions. Compared to the year-end 2024 payouts, Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank reduced its dividend per share from 0.20 yuan to 0.12 yuan, with the total payout decreasing from 4.89 billion yuan to 2.93 billion yuan. Ruifeng Bank increased its dividend per 10 shares from 2.0 yuan to 2.1 yuan, raising the total from 3.9 billion yuan to 4.1 billion yuan. Major state-owned banks, Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, saw slight year-on-year increases in both dividend per share and total payout amounts.
The dividend plans reveal a significant divergence among listed banks, with major banks maintaining stable, modest growth while differentiation intensifies among small and medium-sized banks. Wind data shows that as of May 20, 2026, 41 listed banks have announced or implemented their year-end 2025 dividend plans. Among them, 20 banks reduced their dividend per share compared to the previous year-end, with 8 banks experiencing cuts exceeding 40%. Conversely, 15 banks increased their dividend per share, with 5 banks seeing year-on-year growth of over 10%.
Regarding total dividend amounts, Wind data indicates that among these 41 banks, 15 reported a year-on-year decrease in total payout, with 8 seeing declines over 40%. Meanwhile, 21 banks increased their total dividends, with 7 posting growth rates exceeding 10%.
Overall, the trend of divergence continues to be prominent among small and medium-sized banks, such as city commercial banks and rural commercial banks. Financial analyst Qu Fang noted that dividends from major state-owned banks remain relatively stable, generally maintained around 30%, which relates to their operational style, market scale, and societal role. In contrast, small and medium-sized banks operate more flexibly, and significant disparities arise due to capital requirements and their own credit demands. Those with strong operational performance and sufficient capital can attract more investment by increasing dividend ratios, while others must prioritize maintaining stable operations.
Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Sushang Bank, added that against the backdrop of narrowing net interest margins and revenue pressure, the "major banks stable, small and medium banks diverging" pattern in 2025 listed bank dividends fundamentally reflects differences in banks' internal capital generation capacity and asset quality resilience. "Major state-owned banks, leveraging scale advantages, low liability costs, and a relatively diversified income structure, can still maintain positive profit growth, thereby supporting stable dividend policies and acting as a market stabilizer. Many small and medium-sized banks, however, face greater pressure from profit declines due to factors like singular customer structures and lagging exposure of existing asset risks. Significant cuts in dividend per share by some banks represent a passive trade-off made to replenish core tier-one capital."
Lou Feipeng, a researcher at Postal Savings Bank of China, further pointed out that the dividend divergence among small and medium-sized banks stems from differences in profitability and capital strength. Influenced by narrowing net interest margins, regional economic disparities, and risk exposure, the regional development of these banks varies significantly. High-performing banks benefit from regional advantages, superior asset quality, and growth in non-interest income, leading to better profitability and the capacity to increase dividends. However, some small and medium-sized banks, constrained by non-performing loan exposure, high provision pressure, and financing difficulties, face tight core tier-one capital and can only reduce dividends to ensure safety.
In Xue Hongyan's view, this divergence signals that the industry is shifting from scale expansion to quality and efficiency-driven growth, with capital constraints becoming the core bottleneck limiting the dividend-paying capacity of small and medium-sized banks.
Simultaneously, an increasing number of listed banks are adopting interim dividends. Wind data shows that in 2025, 30 banks implemented interim dividends, with the practice extending from major state-owned banks to small and medium-sized institutions.
Lou Feipeng stated this results from the combined effect of policy guidance and market value management. The new "National Nine Articles" encourage more frequent dividend payouts, with major state-owned banks setting an example for smaller banks to follow, aiming to stabilize stock prices and boost investor confidence.
Xue Hongyan believes the sustainability of this "interim + final" dual-dividend rhythm hinges on the dynamic balance between profit realization and capital adequacy ratios. For major banks, regular interim dividends are sustainable and help smooth investors' return curves while attracting long-term capital. However, for some small and medium-sized banks, forcibly maintaining high-frequency dividends amid poor profit performance could erode capital buffers. Therefore, the proliferation of interim dividends will pressure banks to establish more refined capital planning mechanisms.
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