(Yicai Global) April 10 -- Twenty-three of China's publicly traded banks intend to pay out CNY537.4 billion (USD78 billion) in dividends this year, with five having a dividend yield of more than 7 percent.

Fifteen of the lenders have a dividend yield, or percentage of its share price paid out in dividends, of over 5 percent, according to the plans of the 24 listed Chinese banks that had released trading reports for 2022 as of yesterday. Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank has the highest at 7.4 percent, while most of the banks' dividend returns outstrip income from wealth management products.

There were 11 banks among the top 30 high dividend-paying businesses listed in the Chinese mainland. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ranked first among the state-owned lenders with CNY108.2 billion, while China Merchants Bank was top among the joint stock banks at CNY43.8 billion (USD6.4 billion).

Banks' dividend payout ratio, which shows how much of earnings after tax are paid to shareholders, ranged from 12 percent to 33 percent. The overall payment ratio was nearly 29 percent compared with net profits of about CNY1.85 trillion (USD276.5 billion) at the 23 lenders, with that of Zheshang Bank, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Qingdao, and six other major state-owned banks exceeding 30 percent.

Despite the attractive dividend yield, the shares of most banks fell last year because of lower expectation for the economy, particularly the real estate sector. Of the 24 lenders that have released their annual reports, only eight saw their stock prices gain last year, with four jumping more than 10 percent. Ping An Bank, Bank of Zhengzhou, and Bank of Ruifeng plunged by over 20 percent.

Bank of Zhengzhou, where net profit shrank 25 percent in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, was the only lender that did not pay cash dividends in 2022 for a third straight year. In the face of the regional economic situation and the downturn in the property sector, the bank sped up its bad assets disposal and used the undistributed profit to supplement its tier-one capital, it said.

Editor: Martin Kadiev