Six Major State-Owned Banks Raise Interim Dividend Ratio to 31%, Total Payout Reaches 220.9 Billion Yuan

A-share listed banks have disclosed their 2026 interim dividend plans, with 13 banks increasing their payout ratios year-on-year. The six largest state-owned banks collectively distributed RMB 220.989 billion, raising their cash dividend ratios uniformly from 30% to 31%. Both the coverage and scale of interim dividends have further expanded.

From a structural perspective, dividend willingness and ratios vary significantly across bank types: state-owned banks demonstrate strong stability with synchronized ratio increases, high-quality joint-stock banks and leading city commercial banks maintain relatively high payout levels, while some smaller and medium-sized banks remain more conservative.

Six State-Owned Banks' Interim Dividends Increase by RMB 16.3 Billion Year-on-Year

State-owned banks remain the dominant force in this round of interim dividends. According to Wind data, the six largest state-owned banks distributed a total of RMB 220.989 billion in interim dividends for 2026, an increase of RMB 16.332 billion compared to the same period in 2025, representing a year-on-year growth of 7.98%. The scale of dividend payouts has grown significantly.

The growth in state-owned banks' dividend payouts is driven by two factors: first, the accelerated year-on-year growth in their net profits attributable to parent companies, which serves as the base; and second, the increase in cash dividend ratios. Wind data shows that in the first half of 2026, the combined net profit attributable to parent companies of the six state-owned banks reached RMB 712.598 billion, up RMB 30.074 billion from RMB 682.524 billion in the same period of 2025. During the same period, the average year-on-year growth rate of net profit attributable to parent companies for the six banks was 4.44%, a significant acceleration from 0.25% in the first half of 2025. Notably, all six banks achieved higher year-on-year growth rates in the first half of 2026: Bank of China (5.11%), Agricultural Bank of China (4.93%), Postal Savings Bank of China (4.62%), China Construction Bank (4.62%), Bank of Communications (4.04%), and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (3.32%).

At the same time, all six state-owned banks raised their cash dividend ratios by one percentage point in the first half of 2026, from 30% to 31%.

Detailed Breakdown of State-Owned Bank Dividends

• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH) remains the bank with the highest absolute dividend payout. For the 2026 interim period, ICBC plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.511 per 10 shares (including tax, same below), with a total payout of RMB 53.853 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.414 per 10 shares, totaling approximately RMB 50.396 billion, accounting for 30.0% of net profit attributable to parent company shareholders.

• China Construction Bank plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 2.010 per 10 shares for the 2026 interim period, totaling RMB 52.582 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.858 per 10 shares, totaling RMB 48.605 billion.

• Agricultural Bank of China plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.297 per 10 shares for the 2026 interim period, totaling RMB 45.393 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.195 per 10 shares, totaling RMB 41.823 billion.

• Bank of China plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.190 per 10 ordinary shares for the 2026 interim period, totaling RMB 38.343 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.094 per 10 shares, totaling RMB 35.250 billion.

• Bank of Communications plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.68 per 10 shares (including tax) for the 2026 interim period, totaling RMB 14.845 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.563 per 10 shares, totaling RMB 13.811 billion.

• Postal Savings Bank of China plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 1.330 per 10 ordinary shares for the 2026 interim period, totaling RMB 15.973 billion. In the same period of 2025, the bank distributed RMB 1.230 per 10 ordinary shares, totaling RMB 14.772 billion.

Joint-Stock and Regional Banks Show Clear Divergence

Beyond state-owned banks, joint-stock banks and regional banks exhibit more pronounced differentiation.

Joint-Stock Banks

Among joint-stock banks, three have announced interim dividend plans:

• China CITIC Bank (601998.SH) plans to distribute a cash dividend of RMB 2.03 per 10 shares to both A-share and H-share shareholders for the 2026 interim period, with a total payout of approximately RMB 11.296 billion, accounting for 30.4% of net profit attributable to parent company.

• China Merchants Bank's interim dividend plan has been approved by shareholders, but the payout implementation has been postponed to January–February 2027 and has not yet entered the execution phase. However, the bank stated in its semi-annual report that the cash dividend for the 2026 interim period will account for 35% of net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first half of 2026.

• Industrial Bank announced its first-ever interim dividend, but has not yet released a specific payout plan. The bank stated in its financial report that the interim cash dividend amount will not exceed one-third of net profit attributable to parent company ordinary shareholders for the first half of 2026.

• China Minsheng Bank distributed its 2026 interim dividend on September 15, becoming the first joint-stock bank to pay an interim dividend. According to the announcement, Minsheng Bank distributed RMB 1.18 per 10 shares, with a total cash dividend of approximately RMB 5.166 billion, accounting for 29.78% of the RMB 17.347 billion in net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first half of 2026. The cash dividend ratio remained largely stable compared to the 2025 interim dividend, when the bank distributed RMB 1.36 per 10 shares, totaling approximately RMB 5.954 billion, accounting for 29.95% of net profit.

Regional Banks

Across all A-share banks, RuiFeng Bank conducted its first-ever interim dividend. On September 10, RuiFeng Bank distributed RMB 1.00 per 10 shares to all shareholders. Based on the total share count as of June 30, the total cash dividend was RMB 196 million, accounting for 21.85% of net profit attributable to listed company shareholders for the first half of 2026.

In terms of cash dividends, regional banks also show significant divergence.

Among city commercial banks that have announced but not yet implemented plans, Bank of Shanghai has the highest cash dividend ratio. The bank plans to distribute RMB 3 per 10 shares, with a total payout of RMB 4.263 billion, accounting for 32.05% of net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders. Hangzhou Bank plans to distribute RMB 4.60 per 10 shares, with an estimated payout of RMB 3.335 billion, representing a dividend ratio of 26.02% based on net profit attributable to parent company. Among other city commercial banks, Bank of Ningbo plans to distribute RMB 4 per 10 shares, with a total payout of RMB 2.641 billion and a dividend ratio of 15.95%.

In the rural commercial bank sector, multiple banks have also launched interim dividend plans. Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank plans to distribute RMB 2.499 per 10 shares, with an estimated payout of RMB 2.410 billion and an interim dividend ratio of 34.07%, making it one of the higher-ratio banks among those that have disclosed plans. The bank has set the record date as September 23 and the payout date as September 24. Jiangyin Bank plans to distribute RMB 1 per 10 shares, with a total payout of RMB 271 million and a dividend ratio of 31.27%.

Overall Structural Characteristics

Overall, the 2026 interim dividends of listed banks show clear structural characteristics:

• State-owned banks demonstrate strong dividend stability with synchronized ratio increases
• High-quality joint-stock banks and leading city commercial banks maintain relatively high payout levels
• 10 smaller and medium-sized banks will not pay interim dividends
• 12 banks have confirmed they will pay interim dividends but have not yet determined specific plans

Identifying A-Share Bank Dividend Targets

From an investment opportunity perspective, are banks with high interim dividend ratios necessarily worthwhile dividend stocks?

The特殊性 of banks determines that dividend willingness and capacity depend not only on management intent but also on regulatory capital requirements.

According to research by Qu Jun, a banking analyst at Orient Securities, as of the end of the first half of 2026, the core Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, and capital adequacy ratio of listed banks were 11.4%, 12.8%, and 16.3%, respectively, representing sequential changes of +3bp, +4bp, and +29bp. The improvement in capital adequacy ratios is mainly attributed to three factors: first, improved profitability in the banking sector, which supports internal capital replenishment; second, unrealized gains from OCI (Other Comprehensive Income) have to some extent bolstered core Tier 1 capital; and third, the capital consumption rate corresponding to risk-weighted assets has slowed.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance has implemented定向注资 (targeted capital injection) for state-owned banks through special government bonds. In 2025, the Ministry of Finance issued the first batch of special government bonds totaling RMB 500 billion to support four state-owned banks—Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China—in replenishing their core Tier 1 capital. In 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued special government bonds totaling RMB 300 billion to support state-owned banks including ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China in replenishing their core Tier 1 capital. The two rounds of capital injection total RMB 800 billion, completing capital replenishment for all six large state-owned commercial banks. Other smaller and medium-sized banks are also actively replenishing their capital.

From a profitability perspective, Dai Zhifeng believes that a ROE (Return on Equity) of more than 8% for three consecutive years should be used as a criterion for identifying dividend stocks, while the non-performing loan ratio should be below the industry average of 1.5%. Only when all three conditions are solid can a bank's dividend attribute be considered established.

Using "high ROE and stable returns" as a screening criterion for A-share listed banks, this publication applied the following indicators:

• ROE above 8% for the past three years
• Cash dividend ratio above 28% for three consecutive years
• Non-performing loan ratio below 1.5%
• Dividend yield above 3.7%

The results show that 10 banks meet these criteria, including five state-owned banks—ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, and Bank of Communications—as well as China CITIC Bank and Industrial Bank. In addition, two city commercial banks (Chongqing Bank and Bank of Shanghai) and one rural commercial bank (Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank) also made the list.

(Source: Securities Market Weekly)