Is there another "error" in the annual report? Everbright Bank announces data correction

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Jiemian News Reporter | An Zhen

On the evening of April 1, Everbright Bank’s Hong Kong stocks (601818.SH, 06818.HK) updated its announcement, revising some branch asset scale data in the 2025 annual report.

After the 2025 annual report was released, Jiemian News found that the data in Everbright Bank’s A-share annual report and H-share annual report were inconsistent. For example, the asset scale of Everbright Bank’s Shanghai Branch was 443.19B yuan, while in the H-share annual report, that branch’s assets were listed as 39.54 billion yuan. Data for other branches such as the Tianjin Branch, Qingdao Branch, and Ningbo Branch also differed between the A-share and H-share reports.

A banking industry insider told Jiemian News that in economically developed regions, branch asset sizes generally do not change so drastically, and there is a high probability that the data was incorrect.

A relevant person from Everbright Bank told Jiemian News that the cause of the data error in the annual report is still unclear.

However, Jiemian News noted that on April 1, Everbright Bank disclosed an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange stating: “This company hereby notifies you that, after verification, the branch asset scale data in the annual performance announcement is confirmed as follows.” Everbright Bank stated in the announcement that the corrected content does not affect other information published in the annual report, and no other content has been changed.

Recently, Everbright Bank’s 2025 annual report showed that last year, the bank achieved operating income of 126.31B yuan and net profit attributable to the parent of 38.83B yuan, both down 6%. As of the end of 2025, the bank’s total assets surpassed 70 trillion yuan, reaching 71.6539 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.96% from the previous year; the non-performing loan ratio was 1.27%, up 0.02 percentage points from the end of last year.

In fact, this is not the first case of financial report errors in the banking industry this year. Previously, Bank of Communications (601328.SH, 03328.HK) mistakenly wrote “a cash dividend of 3.247 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares” as “a cash dividend of 3.247 yuan (including tax) per share” when disclosing its 2025 profit distribution plan.

Subsequently, Bank of Communications urgently issued a correction announcement. The error occurred after the bank’s March 27 disclosure of the “2025 Profit Distribution Plan Announcement,” which contained a typographical mistake due to inadequate proofreading.

The original statement was “2025 annual cash dividend of 3.247 yuan (including tax) per share,” which was corrected to “cash dividend of 3.247 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares for the entire 2025 year.”

The correction states: “Based on the total share capital of 70k common shares as of December 31, 2025, registered A-share and H-share shareholders will receive a cash dividend of RMB 1.684 (including tax) per 10 shares, totaling RMB 14.88 billion. Additionally, including the semi-annual dividend paid in 2025 (cash dividend of RMB 1.563 per 10 shares, including tax), the total cash dividend for 2025 will be RMB 28.692 billion, with a cash dividend payout ratio of 32.3% (i.e., the total cash dividends paid as a proportion of net profit attributable to the parent’s common shareholders).”

Bank of Communications apologized in the announcement for the mistake and expressed regret for any inconvenience caused to investors. The bank also stated it would further strengthen the preparation and review of information disclosure to ensure the quality of disclosures.

Data shows that in 2025, the bank achieved operating income of 88.36B yuan, up 2.02% year-on-year; net profit attributable to the parent was 28.69B yuan, up 2.18%.

Bank of Communications President Zhang Baojiang said at the earnings briefing that the bank always attaches great importance to shareholder returns, “During the 14th Five-Year Plan,” it has distributed a total of 123.9 billion yuan in cash dividends to all shareholders. The company will continue its medium-term dividend policy, paying dividends for 2025 in the second half of the year, with a dividend payout ratio maintained above 30% for 14 consecutive years.