37 listed banks collectively added 6,505 employees last year, with average salaries experiencing increases and decreases. Three categories of positions were concentrated in optimization.

Securities Times reporter An Yi

More than half of listed banks have already released their 2025 annual reports. As of the time of this report, among 57 A-share and H-share banks, 37 have published their annual performance, and employee compensation details have come into view. Based on sortable comparable data, overall labor cost expenditures at listed banks are showing an upward trend.

Meanwhile, the 37 banks added a total of 6,505 employees last year. The newly added staff continue to be directed mainly toward areas such as business marketing and information technology. Employee groups whose roles as tellers and whose educational backgrounds are not advantageous continue to undergo ongoing optimization and adjustment.

As for compensation per employee, joint-stock banks—whose compensation mechanisms are flexible, whose market orientation is high, and whose branches are concentrated in developed cities—remain at the top. However, Zhejiang Commercial Bank and Everbright Bank show more noticeable declines in compensation per employee.

Overall compensation for joint-stock banks is trending downward

As understood, bank employee compensation is mainly reflected in the income statement item “Business and administrative expenses,” specifically the “Employee expenses” section. Some banks also refer to it as “human resources costs” or “employee costs.” Employee expenses specifically include wages and bonuses, as well as social insurance, the five insurances and one housing fund, union dues, training fees, and other items. Among them, wages and bonuses are what are usually called employee compensation; the remaining items are uniformly categorized as benefits.

Among the aforementioned 37 banks, most have increased investment in human resources to support the implementation of their strategies. Among them, Luzhou Bank and Weihai Bank increased their human resources investment by 17% and 12%, respectively, last year. Chongqing Bank’s growth rate was also close to 10%, ranking among the top in the industry.

At the same time, 11 banks saw their total human resources costs decrease slightly. Among them, Everbright Bank fell by nearly 10% year over year, with the largest decline among peers. Jiangxi Bank, Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank, and Zhejiang Commercial Bank also saw declines of more than 5%.

Regarding compensation per employee, calculated by equivalent headcount (the average of employee numbers at the beginning and end of the year), among the 37 banks above, although joint-stock banks overall showed a downward trend in amount, they still remain in an absolute leading position.

Among them, CITIC Bank’s compensation per employee edged up to 600,000 yuan, temporarily ranking first among joint-stock banks. China Merchants Bank’s compensation per employee has continued to decline for four consecutive years, falling back to within 580,000 yuan. Industrial Bank continued to keep compensation per employee at around 560,000 yuan, with a slight year-over-year increase.

6 banks have revenue generation per employee above 2.8 million

Listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have compensation per employee at the forefront of the banking industry. Behind this are multiple factors: first, listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have relatively concentrated branches and employees, and their branch locations are mainly distributed in major cities in China. They need competitive compensation to attract talent.

Second, there are differences in employee scale and educational background structure among different types of banks. In listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks, the share of employees with undergraduate degrees or above is generally higher than 85%, and the corresponding compensation per employee is also higher.

Third, compared with state-owned large banks, listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have more flexible mechanisms and are more market-oriented. In the face of relatively intense market competition, to attract talent, the benefits offered are also more attractive—especially compensation for business backbones and digital talent.

More importantly, matching compensation per employee is the higher per-employee productivity of listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks. Data show that among the 37 banks above, 6 have per-employee revenue generation exceeding 2.8 million yuan. This includes 4 joint-stock banks and 2 city commercial banks. Among them, CITIC Bank’s per-employee revenue generation last year was close to 3.2 million yuan, ranking first. Ping An Bank and Industrial Bank followed closely, with per-employee revenue generation of approximately 3.18 million yuan and 3.09 million yuan, respectively.

Among city commercial banks, Huishang Bank and Chongqing Bank both have per-employee revenue generation around 2.8 million yuan, leading the group. Previously, Luzhou Bank—formerly leading among city commercial banks—saw its per-employee revenue generation decline by 20% to 2.72 million yuan.

Optimization of three types of positions is significant

According to statistics, among the 37 listed banks above, the total number of employees in 2025 increased by 6,505 compared with the previous year, and the incremental amount was lower than in 2024. Overall, the number of banks that increased headcount was roughly equal to the number of banks that reduced headcount.

Overall, the newly added personnel at listed banks are mainly concentrated in fields such as business marketing and information technology. According to statistics, among the six state-owned large banks, some saw both increases and decreases in employee numbers, resulting in a net increase of about 1,500 people. Specifically, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications increased their headcount by about 3,100 and 2,200 people, respectively. Bank of Communications has increased headcount for four consecutive years. Last year, among the employees of its domestic banking institutions, the number of sales and expansion staff increased by more than 1,700, and the number of financial technology staff increased by more than 700.

Among joint-stock banks, China Merchants Bank has maintained a long-term upward trend in its employee numbers. Last year, it added nearly 4,400 employees, ranking first among the 37 banks mentioned above. In terms of professional composition, last year the total number of employees in its corporate finance and retail finance business lines increased by more than 2,400.

At the same time, the banking industry continues to advance employee structure adjustment and optimization. Overall, the industry’s headcount reduction shows fairly consistent characteristics, mainly concentrated in three types of personnel and roles: first, roles with relatively high substitutability, such as tellers, security personnel, telephone customer service, and credit card sales; second, to improve quality and efficiency and shorten the management radius, banks streamline internal institutions and reduce the proportion of middle- and back-office personnel; third, employees whose educational backgrounds are not advantageous. According to statistics, in 2025, six state-owned large banks saw a combined decrease of more than 38,000 employees with junior college education or below.

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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