As all six major state-owned banks released their 2026 interim reports, their mid-year dividend plans have now been finalized. Collectively, all six banks continued their interim dividend distributions, with a total proposed payout exceeding 220 billion yuan, marking an increase of more than 16 billion yuan compared to the same period last year. Notably, this marks the first time the six banks have jointly raised their cash dividend payout ratios to 31%, further strengthening their commitment to rewarding investors.
Looking at the specific dividend plans from each bank, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China have proposed interim dividends of 53.853 billion yuan, 45.393 billion yuan, 38.343 billion yuan, 52.582 billion yuan, 14.845 billion yuan, and 15.973 billion yuan, respectively. In per-share terms, ICBC plans to distribute 1.511 yuan per 10 shares, Agricultural Bank of China plans 1.297 yuan per 10 shares, Bank of China plans 1.19 yuan per 10 shares, China Construction Bank plans 2.01 yuan per 10 shares, while Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank of China plan 1.68 yuan and 1.33 yuan per 10 shares, respectively.
"To further enhance the sense of gain for our broad base of investors, we have raised the cash dividend payout ratio to 31% for this interim period," stated Tian Fenglin, Board Secretary of ICBC, during the earnings conference. In recent years, the dividend payout ratios of major state-owned banks have consistently remained at 30% or above. Beyond ICBC, the other five major banks also announced at their respective earnings conferences their intention to increase their 2026 interim dividend ratios to 31%, demonstrating a strengthened effort to boost payouts and improve investor returns.
Explaining the rationale behind the elevated interim dividend ratio, Ji Zhihong, Vice President of China Construction Bank, noted at the earnings conference that this arrangement results from a comprehensive evaluation balancing the bank's fundamentals, shareholder returns, and long-term business development. The higher payout ratio not only rewards investors and enhances the appeal of dividend yields but also preserves sufficient internal capital to support sustainable growth over the long term.
The year 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the listing of several major state-owned banks. Over the past two decades, the six banks have consistently adhered to the principle of sharing development achievements with shareholders, establishing stable and sustainable shareholder return expectations. Several major banks have accumulated total dividends exceeding one trillion yuan since their listings. Tian Fenglin reported at the earnings conference that since its listing in 2006, ICBC has delivered cumulative cash dividends exceeding 1.64 trillion yuan to shareholders, ranking as the highest total dividend payer among A-share listed companies. According to Zhang Hui, President of Bank of China, the bank has distributed over one trillion yuan in cumulative cash dividends since its listing, maintaining a relatively high payout ratio of 30% for many years. Ji Zhihong also stated at the conference that China Construction Bank has paid out cumulative dividends surpassing 1.4 trillion yuan since its listing, with annual dividends exceeding 100 billion yuan in each of the past three years.
The continuously expanding scale of dividends and the steadily increasing payout ratios ultimately rest upon the solid operational resilience and robust profitability of the major state-owned banks. According to data disclosed in the interim reports, the six banks achieved steady improvements in operational performance during the reporting period. Both total operating revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders recorded positive year-on-year growth, with combined operating revenue reaching 2,004.987 billion yuan and aggregate net profit attributable to shareholders totaling 712.598 billion yuan.