Select Language:
Employee numbers at nine joint-stock commercial banks in China increased last year, while overall salaries declined. Amid narrower net interest margins and slower profit growth, compensation growth has stabilized or even contracted locally.
Data from Wind Information indicates that the workforce at Industrial Bank, China CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank, China Everbright Bank, Hua Xia Bank, China Minsheng Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Ping An Bank, and China Zheshang Bank grew by approximately 3,000 employees. Total payroll decreased by 1.4%, amounting to CNY272 billion (USD39.5 billion), and the average salary fell 2.5% to CNY494,400 (USD71,870).
While five banks expanded their employee base, three saw declines, and one remained unchanged. Both China Merchants Bank and CITIC Bank increased their staff by 3%, whereas Hua Xia Bank and Minsheng Bank experienced the largest decreases—down 5.6% and 2.9%, respectively.
In terms of salary adjustments, only Industrial Bank (up 2.3%), CITIC Bank (up 1.9%), and China Merchants Bank (up 0.9%) reported salary increases. Conversely, Everbright Bank, which was among the few mainland-listed lenders to see its annual net profit and revenue decline (both dropping over 6%), slashed wages by more than 19%.
The three banks—CITIC Bank, China Merchants Bank, and Industrial Bank—have established a “salary highland” among joint-stock lenders, with average pay exceeding CNY550,000. CITIC Bank leads with an average of CNY599,200, slightly below the previous year but still well ahead of China Merchants Bank at CNY564,900 and Industrial Bank at CNY564,200.
Everbright Bank offers the lowest average annual salary among the nine, at CNY375,900.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
