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 the annual reports from listed banks have already been released. As of the time of this writing, among 57 A-share and H-share banks, 37 have published their annual performance, and information on staff compensation has begun to come into view. Based on comparable data, labor cost outlays for listed banks as a whole are showing an upward trend.

Meanwhile, these 37 banks added a total of 6,505 employees last year. The newly added staff were still mainly directed toward areas such as business marketing and information technology. Employee groups whose positions as tellers and whose educational backgrounds are less advantageous continued to be optimized and adjusted.

In terms of compensation per employee, joint-stock banks—whose compensation mechanisms are flexible, whose market orientation is high, and whose branch institutions are concentrated in developed cities—still rank at the top. However, the year-over-year declines in average pay at Zhejiang Bank and Everbright Bank are relatively significant.

Joint-stock banks’ compensation trend down overall

As far as is known, bank employees’ compensation is mainly reflected in the income statement under “Business and administrative expenses,” specifically the item “Staff costs.” Some banks also refer to it as “human resources costs” or “employee costs.” Staff costs specifically include wages and bonuses, as well as social insurance, the five insurances and one housing fund (5-insurance 1-fund), trade union funds, training fees, and other items. Among these, wages and bonuses are what are commonly referred to as employees’ compensation; the remaining items are collectively categorized as benefits.

For the aforementioned 37 banks, most have increased investment in human resources to support the implementation of their strategies. Last year, human resources investment at Luzhou Bank and Weihai Bank increased by 17% and 12%, respectively. Chongqing Bank’s increase also came close to 10%, placing it among the leaders in the peer group.

At the same time, total human resources costs at 11 banks declined 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 Bank also saw declines of more than 5%.

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

Among them, the average compensation at CITIC Bank inched up to 600k yuan, temporarily ranking first among joint-stock banks. China Merchants Bank’s average compensation has declined for four consecutive years, falling back to within 580k yuan; Industrial Bank continued to hold around 560k yuan, with a slight year-over-year increase.

6 banks with per-capita revenue creation exceeding 2.8 million

Average compensation at listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks ranks among the top in the banking industry. Behind this are multiple factors: first, listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have a relatively concentrated distribution of branch institutions and employees, and they are mainly located in major cities in China. To attract talent, they need competitive compensation.

Second, there are differences in employee size and educational background structure across different types of banks. The share of employees with an undergraduate degree or above at listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks 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. Facing relatively intense market competition, to attract talent, they offer more enticing compensation, especially for business backbones and digital talent.

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

For city commercial banks, Huishang Bank and Chongqing Bank both have per-capita revenue creation around 2.8 million yuan, placing them among the leaders. Previously, Luzhou Bank, which had been leading among city commercial banks, saw per-capita revenue creation decline by 20% to 2.72 million yuan.

Optimization of three categories of positions is significant

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

On the whole, the additional headcount at listed banks is mainly concentrated in areas such as business marketing and information technology. Statistics show that among the 6 state-owned large banks, there were both increases and decreases in employee counts, with a net increase of about 1,500 people in total. Of that, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications increased headcount by about 3,100 and 2,200 people, respectively. Bank of Communications has increased headcount for four consecutive years. Last year, among its onshore banking institutions, the number of employees in sales and business development increased by more than 1,700, and the number of financial technology personnel increased by more than 700.

Among joint-stock banks, China Merchants Bank’s employee headcount has maintained steady growth over the long term. Last year, it added nearly 4,400 employees, ranking first among the 37 banks mentioned above. From the perspective of professional composition, last year the number of employees in its corporate finance and retail finance lines increased by a total of 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 relatively consistent characteristics, mainly concentrated in three types of personnel and positions: first, positions with strong substitutability, such as tellers, security guards, telephone customer service, credit card sales, and so on; second, to improve quality and efficiency and shorten the management radius, banks streamline internal institutions and reduce the proportion of back-office and middle-office personnel; third, employees whose educational backgrounds are not advantageous. Statistics show that in 2025, the total number of employees at the 6 state-owned large banks with a junior college degree or below decreased by more than 38k.

(Editor: Qian Xiaorui)

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