On August 30th, Financial Associated Press - Six state-owned banks released their financial reports. In the first half of the year, the six state-owned banks had a strong ability to raise funds, with a total operating income of up to 1.8 trillion yuan and a daily average income of 4.93 billion yuan.

It is worth noting that multiple state-owned banks have responded to the call and participated in mid-term dividends for the first time. As a result, the six state-owned banks made their first collective appearance on the mid-term dividend list, with a dividend amount of up to 216.058 billion yuan. Multiple senior executives of state-owned banks have promised to continue the continuity, stability, and predictability of the dividend policy.

The number of banks with total assets of "40 trillion" has increased to three, with China Construction Bank joining.

Although the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's operating income decreased by 6% year-on-year in the first half of the year, it still led the state-owned banks with an operating income of 420.499 billion yuan. During the reporting period, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China achieved a net profit of 171.296 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 2.0%.

China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China followed closely, with operating incomes of 385.965 billion yuan, 366.835 billion yuan, and 317.076 billion yuan, respectively. In terms of net profit performance, China Construction Bank and Bank of China achieved net profits of 165.039 billion yuan and 126.536 billion yuan in the first half of the year, respectively, with a slight decrease of 1.35% and 0.9% year-on-year. Agricultural Bank of China's net profit increased by 2% to 136.5 billion yuan.

In the first half of the year, Postal Savings Bank of China achieved an operating income of 176.789 billion yuan, a slight decrease of 0.11% year-on-year; and a net profit of 48.885 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.753 billion yuan, down 1.52% year-on-year. During the same period, Bank of Communications achieved an operating income of 132.347 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.51% year-on-year; and a net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 45.287 billion yuan, a decrease of 1.63% year-on-year.

State-owned banks have steadily expanded their asset scale. By the end of June, the assets of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank, the three state-owned banks, had reached 40 trillion yuan. Among them, the total assets of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China increased by 5.4% to 47.12 trillion yuan compared to the beginning of the year. Customer deposits were 34.11 trillion yuan, an increase of 1.7% compared to the beginning of the year; various loans were 27.84 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.7% compared to the beginning of the year.

At the same period, Agricultural Bank of China's total assets amounted to 42 trillion yuan, a 5.3% increase from the end of the previous year; among which the total amount of customer loans and advances reached 24.4 trillion yuan, a 7.8% increase from the end of the previous year. As of June 30 this year, the total assets of China Construction Bank Corporation amounted to 40.29 trillion yuan, a growth of 5.14% compared to the end of 2023, entering the '40 trillion' club for the first time.

In the first half of the year, Bank of China's total assets reached 33.91 trillion yuan, with total liabilities of 31.13 trillion yuan, representing increases of 4.55% and 4.9% respectively compared to the previous year.

As of the end of June 2024, the total assets of Postal Savings Bank of China exceeded 16 trillion yuan, reaching 16.41 trillion yuan; Bank of Communications' total assets were 14.18 trillion yuan, an increase of 117.442 billion yuan from the end of the previous year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 0.84%.

The six major Chinese banks collectively issue red envelopes for the first time.

Since the State Council, CSRC, and other departments issued multiple documents last year to encourage listed companies to increase the frequency of cash dividends, listed banks have actively promoted matters related to mid-term dividends. The six major banks collectively distributed dividends to shareholders for the first time, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ranking first among state-owned banks in terms of total cash dividend amounting to 51.109 billion yuan.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China achieved a net profit attributable to the mother company's shareholders of 170.467 billion yuan in the first half of 2024, distributing a cash dividend of 1.434 yuan per 10 shares (including tax). With the total of 356,406,257,089 ordinary shares as the base, the total cash dividend amounted to 51.109 billion yuan, accounting for 30.0% of the net profit attributable to the mother company's shareholders.

Chairman Ge Haijiao of Bank of China stated today: “The performance of Bank of China's stock prices in the two capital markets during the first half of the year has been outstanding, bringing tangible investment returns to shareholders. Bank of China will increase mid-term dividends this year, taking into account factors such as business performance, financial condition, and future development, we suggest a distribution of 1.208 yuan (pre-tax) per 10 shares of common stock in 2024 for mid-term, to be submitted for approval at the shareholders' meeting.” It is reported that the total amount of dividend distribution based on the number of issued shares at the end of June 2024 is 35.562 billion yuan (pre-tax).

The Board of Directors of China Construction Bank Corporation proposed to distribute mid-term cash dividends to all shareholders in 2024, at a rate of 0.197 yuan per share (including tax), totaling approximately 49.252 billion yuan, with the dividend accounting for 29.97% of the net profit attributable to the bank's shareholders under the group's calibre in the first half of 2024, to be proposed for review at the shareholders' meeting in the second half of 2024. The bank stated that the cash dividend will be distributed within two months after the approval of the 2024 mid-term profit distribution plan at the shareholders' meeting.

According to the mid-term profit distribution plan approved by the board of directors of Agricultural Bank of China in 2024, the bank will distribute mid-term cash dividends of 1.164 yuan (including taxes) per 10 shares to ordinary shareholders, totaling 40.738 billion yuan (including taxes). This dividend distribution plan will be submitted to the shareholders' meeting for approval.

Postal Savings Bank of China announced that it plans to distribute cash dividends to all registered ordinary shareholders as of the close of trading on July 10, 2024. The cash dividend will be 2.610 yuan (including taxes) per 10 shares, with a total distribution of approximately 25.881 billion yuan (including taxes). This profit distribution does not include the capital reserve fund to increase capital stock. The total amount of mid-term dividends of Postal Savings Bank of China accounts for no more than 30% of the net income attributable to bank shareholders in the first half of 2024.

According to Bank of Communications' 2024 mid-term profit distribution plan, based on the total number of common shares of 74.263 billion shares, the bank will distribute cash dividends of RMB 0.182 yuan (including taxes) per share to registered A-share and H-share shareholders, with a total distribution of RMB 13.516 billion yuan (including taxes). He Zhaobin, the secretary of the board of directors of the bank, said that the mid-term dividend plan still needs to be submitted to the shareholders' meeting for approval. After approval, the mid-term dividends of A-shares and H-shares will be credited in January and February 2025, respectively.

He Zhaobin added that Bank of Communications will maintain the continuity, stability, and predictability of its dividend policy, and will continue to maintain a dividend rate of over 30% in the future.