Several banks have released their mid-term dividend plans and specific schemes for the year 2024. According to incomplete statistics, the mid-term dividend amounts announced by listed banks currently exceed 200 billion yuan.

Listed banks have always been the "big spenders" on dividends in the A-share market. Driven by policies, listed banks continue to enhance their dividend awareness and strengthen investor returns. Dai Zhifeng, an analyst at Zhongtai Securities, stated that bank stocks possess stability and defensiveness, along with high dividend yields and the investment attributes of state-owned financial institutions, which provide strong support for the bank stock market.

An increasing number of banks are distributing dividends mid-term.

On September 29th, Shanghai Bank announced that the board of directors has reviewed and passed a resolution regarding the 2024 mid-term profit distribution plan. It is proposed to distribute a cash dividend of 2.80 yuan (including tax) per 10 ordinary shares to all ordinary shareholders, based on the total number of ordinary shares registered on the equity distribution rights registration date. According to the company's total number of ordinary shares as of the end of June 2024, a total of approximately 3.978 billion yuan (including tax) in cash dividends for ordinary shares is planned to be distributed, accounting for 30.67% of the net profit attributable to the ordinary shareholders of the parent company in the consolidated statement.

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Shanghai Bank stated that if there is any change in the total share capital before the implementation of the equity distribution rights registration date, the company will maintain the same dividend distribution ratio per share and adjust the total distribution amount accordingly, which will be disclosed in the equity distribution implementation announcement.

On September 25th, Ping An Bank issued the 2024 semi-annual equity distribution implementation announcement, stating that the company's 2024 semi-annual equity distribution plan is to distribute a cash dividend of 2.46 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares, with the equity registration date set for October 9th, 2024, and the ex-dividend date set for October 10th, 2024.

In late August, Bank of Communications released the 2024 semi-annual profit distribution plan. According to the plan, a cash dividend of 0.182 yuan (including tax) per share is allocated, with a total planned cash dividend of 13.516 billion yuan (including tax), and the cash dividend ratio is 32.36%. The bank's management stated that Bank of Communications has maintained a cash dividend ratio of over 30% for 12 consecutive years and will maintain the continuity, stability, and predictability of its dividend policy, keeping it above 30% in the future.

At the mid-term performance press conference, Liu Jianjun, the president of Postal Savings Bank of China, stated that the bank had held a shareholders' meeting on June 28th to approve the framework of the mid-term dividend plan and is currently studying and formulating a specific distribution plan. The dividend ratio is intended to be consistent with other major banks. After further clarifying the specific amount and distribution time, the plan will be formally implemented after going through the corporate governance procedures.

Enhancing the Sustainability of Dividends

In March, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Supervision of Listed Companies (Trial)," which included provisions for strengthening cash dividend supervision and enhancing investor returns. These included requirements for listed companies to formulate proactive and stable cash dividend policies, simplify the review procedures for mid-term dividends, promote multiple dividends per year, and take various measures to increase the dividend yield.In April, the "Several Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening Regulation, Guarding Against Risks, and Promoting High-Quality Development of the Capital Market" clearly stated the need to increase incentives for high-quality dividend-paying companies and to take multiple measures to promote the improvement of dividend payout ratios. Efforts should be made to enhance the stability, continuity, and predictability of dividends, and to promote multiple dividend distributions per year, pre-dividend distributions, and dividends before the Spring Festival.

Looking at the operational situation of banks, the "Review and Outlook of the Development of China's Banking Industry in the First Half of 2024" shows that in 2024, the asset scale of China's banking industry continued to grow, the loan scale expanded steadily, the loan structure was further optimized, the ability to serve the real economy was continuously enhanced, credit support for high-tech manufacturing and other fields was increased, and the development of new quality productive forces was supported; the risk management system framework was continuously improved, the intensity of non-performing asset collection and resolution was increased, and risk control in key areas such as real estate enterprises and local government financing platforms showed initial results, with the non-performing loan ratio remaining stable and the overall asset quality remaining stable.

Zeng Hao, the managing partner of Deloitte China's Banking and Capital Markets, pointed out that China's banking industry faces a situation where opportunities and challenges coexist and are intertwined. In terms of development opportunities, China's GDP growth rate in the first half of the year reached 5.0%, and the economy maintained a long-term stable and positive trend, with the cultivation of new quality productive forces and the construction of a modern industrial system injecting new momentum into economic growth; the gradual implementation of policies and measures to build a strong financial country, the effective operation of the new financial regulatory system and mechanism, and the smooth progress of risk resolution work in fields such as real estate, local government debt, and small and medium financial institutions have created a better domestic environment for the high-quality development of China's banking industry.

"Due to the economic momentum transition still in a painful period, the interest spread of commercial banks has further narrowed to a historical low, and the intermediate business is under pressure; affected by macroeconomic factors, the growth rate of deposit balances has decreased significantly, the growth of demand deposits is under pressure, and the trend of deposit termization has been strengthened, and the banking industry faces greater pressure on funding costs. Under this background, the answer sheet submitted by China's banking industry in the first half of 2024 is commendable." Zeng Hao said.

For investors, after the previous rise in the banking sector, does it still have investment value? Wang Yifeng, the chief analyst of the financial industry at Everbright Securities, pointed out that under the effect of price comparison, the high dividend characteristics of bank stocks are enhanced, and factors conducive to the stable operation of banks are also accumulating.