Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and Ruifeng Bank are set to pay out dividends on their A-shares this week, with a combined total approaching 900 billion yuan. Notably, the dividend payment dates for ICBC and ABC are over two months earlier than the previous year.

According to dividend plans disclosed in annual reports, 41 out of the 42 A-share listed banks plan to distribute dividends for the 2025 fiscal year, with a cumulative amount nearing 6.5 trillion yuan. Zhengzhou Bank is the sole exception, opting against a dividend for a second consecutive year. Among the paying banks, 14 have a dividend payout ratio exceeding 30%, with Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank leading at 34.07%.

However, as of May 11th, only 13 listed banks have seen their stock prices rise this year. Qingdao Bank, Bank of Chengdu, and Bank of Ningbo are among the top performers, while Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Industrial Bank, and Agricultural Bank of China have experienced the largest declines. Based on the latest closing prices, the dividend yields of listed banks show significant divergence, ranging from a high of over 6% to a low of less than 3%.

Although the 2024 annual reports and Q1 2025 reports signaled some stabilization in performance, risks related to asset quality and pressures for capital replenishment continue to exert some restraint on dividend payouts. Some institutional analysts suggest that the investment value of high-dividend stocks will become more concentrated in state-owned major banks and high-quality small-to-medium-sized banks with relatively solid provisioning levels.

ICBC, ABC, and Ruifeng Bank Lead the Payouts At least six A-share listed banks have finalized their 2025 final dividend payment schedules, with three implementing payouts this week.

According to a recent announcement from ICBC, the bank will distribute the 2025 final cash dividend for A-shares on May 13th (Wednesday), with a per-share dividend of 0.1689 yuan. May 12th and 13th are the record date and ex-dividend date, respectively. The total cash dividend payout amounts to approximately 601.97 billion yuan. Of this, the A-share portion, based on about 269.6 billion shares, totals around 455.38 billion yuan.

Agricultural Bank of China will also distribute cash dividends for A-shares on Wednesday, with a per-share dividend of 0.13 yuan. The bank's total 2025 final cash dividend is approximately 454.98 billion yuan, with the A-share portion, based on around 319.2 billion shares, amounting to about 415.02 billion yuan.

Earlier, at the end of April, Ruifeng Bank announced its annual dividend schedule. According to the plan, the bank will distribute the 2025 final cash dividend on May 12th (Tuesday), with a per-share dividend of 0.21 yuan, corresponding to a total payout of 412 million yuan.

It is noteworthy that compared to previous years, the dividend payment dates for the two major banks are significantly earlier. Wind data shows that last year, Bank of Communications, Bank of China, and Postal Savings Bank of China were the first to act, completing their 2024 final cash dividend payments before the end of April 2025, with China Construction Bank following in early May. ICBC and ABC had their dividend payment dates scheduled for mid-July last year.

According to earlier announcements, Bank of China's 2025 final A-share dividend is expected to be paid on July 10th, with the H-share dividend expected on August 19th. Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank's 2024 final dividend is anticipated to be paid on June 29th. Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank's 2024 final A-share and H-share dividends are expected to be paid on June 16th and July 27th, respectively.

This means that this week, ICBC, ABC, and Ruifeng Bank will be the first to distribute "red envelopes," with a total amount of approximately 874 billion yuan. Including interim dividends, ICBC and ABC distributed total cash dividends of about 1.106 trillion yuan and 873 billion yuan, respectively, for the full year 2024.

In the A-share market, banks have consistently been the most generous dividend payers. As more banks respond to regulatory guidance by implementing interim dividends, 32 listed banks paid dividends twice in 2024, an increase of 8 compared to 2023. Considering both interim and final dividends, the 42 listed banks distributed a total exceeding 6.456 trillion yuan in 2024, an increase of over 13 billion yuan from the previous year.

Banks accounted for nearly 30% of the total A-share dividend payout of approximately 2.4 trillion yuan in 2024. Among them, the "Big Six" state-owned banks distributed a total of about 4.274 trillion yuan in dividends, accounting for over 66% of the banking sector's total and close to 18% of the entire A-share market's payout.

Who is the Most Generous and Who is the Most Frugal? In 2024, apart from Zhengzhou Bank, which again opted against a dividend, the remaining 41 listed banks had cash dividend plans. Among them, 14 banks had a dividend payout ratio of 30% or higher.

Specifically, ICBC and China Construction Bank had total dividend payouts exceeding one trillion yuan each last year. Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Merchants Bank also had payouts above 500 billion yuan. In terms of payout ratio, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank (34.07%), China Merchants Bank (33.85%), and Bank of Shanghai (30.54%) ranked at the top. Bank of Xi'an (16.77%), Qingdao Bank (20.2%), and Suzhou Rural Commercial Bank (20.75%) had relatively lower payout ratios.

Compared to 2023, 12 listed banks increased their payout ratio by more than 1 percentage point. Zijin Bank and Bank of Ningbo saw increases of over 5 percentage points, raising their full-year cash dividend ratios to 29.42% and 27.02%, respectively. Conversely, some banks experienced significant declines in their payout ratios. Besides Zhengzhou Bank returning to a no-dividend policy, Xiamen Bank and Bank of Lanzhou saw their cash dividend ratios drop by over 6 percentage points, both falling below 30%. Their net profits attributable to parent company owners grew by 1.55% and declined by 1.22%, respectively, in 2024.

Focusing on the state-owned major banks, all maintained payout ratios above 30% in 2024. Among joint-stock banks, Huaxia Bank had the lowest ratio at 23.29%, while the other listed joint-stock banks generally had ratios exceeding 25%. China Merchants Bank maintained the highest ratio among them, staying close to 34%, and China CITIC Bank also raised its payout ratio above 30%.

Currently, the market is focused on whether banks will further increase their payout ratios, while also expressing concern about the constraints on dividends posed by the pressure for endogenous capital replenishment amid challenging profitability and structural deterioration in asset quality. During the 2025 annual results briefing, ICBC President Liu Jun stated that the bank would further scientifically quantify its capital planning. Future capital planning and dividend arrangements would be dynamically adjusted based on market conditions. If there is a genuine market call for higher payout ratios, ICBC would take the lead in responding, considering factors such as supporting market development.

Financial report data shows that 28 listed banks saw their core tier-1 capital adequacy ratios decline at the end of 2024 compared to the previous year-end, and 31 banks experienced a decrease in their provision coverage ratios. Lin Yingqi, a banking analyst at China International Capital Corporation (CICC), predicts that state-owned major banks and high-quality small-to-medium-sized banks with relatively solid provisioning levels are likely to achieve steady growth in dividends and profits, possessing investment value due to high dividends.

Considering the full-year 2024 dividend plans and Monday's closing prices, the median dividend yield for A-share listed banks is around 4.45%, still showing a clear advantage over deposit rates and general wealth management product yields. Among them, Huaxia Bank (6.33%), Industrial Bank (6.01%), and Bank of Shanghai (5.63%) offer the highest dividend yields.

However, in terms of stock price performance, banks have shown divergence this year, with many individual stocks giving back earlier gains. High-quality regional banks have performed relatively well. Year-to-date, only 13 listed A-share banks have posted cumulative positive stock price gains. Qingdao Bank leads with a 26.79% increase, followed by Bank of Chengdu and Bank of Ningbo with gains exceeding 15%. In contrast, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank has fallen nearly 27%, while Industrial Bank and Agricultural Bank of China have declined over 10%. These three banks had risen by 22.42%, 12.75%, and 51.8%, respectively, in the full year 2024.

(Note: For comparison purposes, the dividend payout ratio in this article is calculated as Total Dividends / Net Profit Attributable to Parent Company Owners × 100%.)