Bank Annual Report Observation | Over 200 billion! Six major banks announce their dividend plans for the end of 2025 What is the investment value of bank stocks?

Ask AI · Why are undervalued bank stocks becoming the ballast in asset allocation?

CNR Beijing April 1 (Reporter Mi Di) The 2025 “report card” of listed banks is gradually being revealed: According to incomplete statistics, as of April 1, six major state-owned banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank, as well as multiple listed banks such as China Merchants Bank, CITIC Bank, and Ping An Bank, have disclosed their 2025 annual reports.

According to CNR financial reporters’ review, in 2025, the six major banks achieved “double growth” in revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders, and all plan to distribute year-end cash dividends for 2025. Looking ahead, how will banks enhance the sustainability and growth of shareholder returns? What is the investment potential of bank stocks? CNR financial reporters have paid close attention.

Total revenue of the six major banks reaches 3.60 trillion yuan

Wind data shows that in 2025, the revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders of the six major banks both achieved year-on-year growth. Specifically, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank achieved revenues of 36k yuan, 725.31B yuan, 658.31B yuan, 761.05B yuan, 265.07B yuan, and 355.73B yuan respectively, totaling 3.60 trillion yuan in revenue. Among them, Bank of China led the growth among the six banks, with revenue increasing by 4.48% year-on-year.

Additionally, these six banks achieved net profits attributable to shareholders of 36k yuan, 368.56B yuan, 291.04B yuan, 243.02B yuan, 956.22 billion yuan, and 874.04 billion yuan respectively, totaling 1.42 trillion yuan. Notably, Agricultural Bank of China saw the largest increase in net profit attributable to shareholders, up 3.18% year-on-year.

In terms of asset quality, as of the end of 2025, the non-performing loan ratios of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank were 1.31%, 1.27%, 1.23%, 1.31%, 1.28%, and 0.95%, respectively. Among them, the ratios for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Bank of Communications decreased by 0.03, 0.03, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.03 percentage points from the previous year; their loan loss coverage ratios were 213.60%, 292.55%, 200.37%, 233.15%, 208.38%, and 227.94%, with Bank of Communications increasing by 6.44 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

The six major banks plan to distribute a total of 95.62B yuan in cash “red envelopes”

The reporter noted from public information that all six major banks plan to distribute cash dividends for 2025 year-end, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank planning to distribute “red envelopes” of 87.4B yuan, 14.2k yuan, 222.77B yuan, 60.2B yuan, 45.5B yuan, and 37.67B yuan respectively, totaling 53.08B yuan.

Tian Fenglin, Secretary of the Board of Directors of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, stated at a recent earnings release that, in terms of dividend scale and ratio, since its listing in 2006, the bank has created a total cash dividend return of 1.58 trillion yuan for shareholders. The cash dividend rate has remained above 30% for many years, ranking first among A-share banks in total dividends. From the dividend yield perspective, the average dividend yields of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s A-shares and H-shares from 2023 to 2025 reached 5.22% and 7.29%, respectively; in 2025, despite the share price increases of 14.6% for A-shares and 20.7% for H-shares, the bank’s average dividend yields still reached 4.22% and 5.99%, far above the current fixed deposit rates and general wealth management returns.

Tian Fenglin said that in the future, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will strive to maintain its stable operating trend, scientifically determine appropriate dividend ratios based on comprehensive consideration of reasonable shareholder returns, the bank’s own profit retention, and external capital replenishment, continuously enhance financial service capabilities and market competitiveness, and ensure the sustainability and growth of shareholder returns.

Zhang Baojiang, Vice Chairman, Executive Director, and President of Bank of Communications, stated at the earnings briefing that the bank will distribute dividends to all shareholders in the second half of this year for 2025, with the total dividend amount accounting for 32.3% of net profit attributable to common shareholders, maintaining a dividend payout ratio above 30% for 14 consecutive years. Last year, the bank formulated the “Valuation Enhancement Plan,” which improved mechanisms, innovated methods, and enriched channels, making the strategic results and distinctive advantages of Bank of Communications more visible and perceptible, thereby increasing the market’s recognition of its investment value. Going forward, Bank of Communications will continue to focus on sound management, enhance value creation, and provide more stable performance and consistent dividend returns to investors.

Regarding joint-stock banks, the reporter noted that CITIC Bank stated in its annual report: “In 2025, the bank plans to increase cash dividends to 21.2 billion yuan, accounting for 31.75% of net profit attributable to common shareholders, both reaching record highs.” Additionally, Ping An Bank’s Vice President and CFO Xiang Youzhi introduced at the release that “from the perspective of dividends, we have always adhered to this principle over the years, primarily focusing on investors’ dividend needs, and we will do our best within the bank. We have also formulated dividend strategies, with a payout ratio of about 20-30%.”

How to view the current investment value of bank stocks?

Nankai University finance professor Tian Lihui told reporters on the 1st that dividends are a core signal for banks to convey confidence in their operations to the market and are also the cornerstone of value investing. The dividend distribution of the six major state-owned banks demonstrates their “cash cow” nature; regular mid-term dividends decompose annual expectations into predictable cash flows, which helps improve capital efficiency.

“For investors, dividends are the realization of returns. The high dividend yield of bank stocks builds an ‘investment safety cushion,’ providing relatively stable current income in a low-interest-rate environment, attracting long-term funds such as insurance and social security, forming a positive cycle of valuation and capital.” Lihui said.

“From an investor’s perspective, current bank stocks have certain investment value,” said Xue Hongyan, a special researcher at Su Commercial Bank, to the reporter, mainly based on the current valuation at historical lows and dividend yield, which are attractive to conservative investors in a low-interest-rate environment.

Tian Lihui stated that currently, bank stocks exhibit the three characteristics of “low valuation, high dividends, and stable performance.” In terms of valuation, the price-to-book ratio is at a historical low, with sufficient margin of safety; in terms of profitability, leading banks can sustain profit release thanks to their scale and resilience in transformation; in terms of capital, under the background of asset scarcity, insurance funds are increasing allocations, and passive capital inflows provide support. Overall, bank stocks have shifted from cyclical stocks to “high dividend + low volatility” assets, suitable for long-term holding as a “ballast” in portfolios, balancing defense and income.

Xue Hongyan said that looking ahead to 2026, the investment prospects for bank stocks have improved, with the industry expected to continue its valuation upward trend, but overall remaining cautiously optimistic. Investors should pay attention to potential risks such as further narrowing of net interest margins, changes in asset quality, and macroeconomic fluctuations while focusing on banks with stable balance sheet expansion, good asset quality, and strong intermediary business development, to seize structural differentiation and performance-confirmed allocation opportunities.