--- title: "Bank Annual Report Season Turmoil: Dividend Announcement \"Blunder\" and Executive Remarks Spark Controversy" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/281613787.md" description: "During the bank annual report season, Bank of Communications sparked heated discussions due to an error in its dividend announcement. The original announcement stated a cash dividend of 3.247 yuan per share, which was later corrected to a distribution of 3.247 yuan for every 10 shares, resulting in an actual dividend of 0.3247 yuan per share. This type of blunder is not the first occurrence, as HZBANK has also experienced a similar situation. Despite the attention the incident garnered, the stock price of Bank of Communications remained unaffected, rising for five consecutive trading days. The bank reiterated its commitment to maintaining stable dividends and maximizing investor value" datetime: "2026-04-03T07:12:15.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281613787.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281613787.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281613787.md) --- # Bank Annual Report Season Turmoil: Dividend Announcement "Blunder" and Executive Remarks Spark Controversy \[Global Network Finance Reporter Tan Yawen\] During the annual report season for listed banks, topics such as interest margins and asset quality remain focal points of industry-wide attention. This year, however, the "blunder" in dividend announcements and controversial remarks from executives unexpectedly captured public attention, becoming a new topic of heated discussion in the market. **Dividend Announcement Error, Official Correction** On March 27, Bank of Communications disclosed its 2025 annual report and profit distribution plan. The announcement indicated that the bank planned to "distribute a cash dividend of 3.247 yuan per share (tax included) for the entire year of 2025." According to the annual report, Bank of Communications' net profit for 2025 was 95.622 billion yuan, and if this plan were followed, the total dividend would far exceed the annual net profit. Subsequently, on March 30, Bank of Communications issued a correction announcement stating that due to inadequate proofreading, the original announcement contained a textual error. The correction changed from "cash dividend of 3.247 yuan per share (tax included)" to "cash dividend of 3.247 yuan for every 10 shares (tax included)," meaning the actual dividend per share is 0.3247 yuan. As dividends relate to the direct interests of investors, this matter quickly drew attention. Some investors noted that such blunders are not a first occurrence. On April 19, 2024, HZBANK also issued an announcement stating that due to staff negligence, there was a typographical error in the announcement of the 2023 profit distribution plan regarding the "per share distribution ratio." At that time, HZBANK promptly issued a correction, changing "cash dividend of 5.20 yuan per share (tax included)" to "cash dividend of 0.52 yuan per share (tax included)." In contrast, Bank of Communications took two days to issue a correction. From a market performance perspective, the stock price of Bank of Communications was not affected; from March 27 to April 2, the bank's stock price rose for five consecutive trading days. **Reaffirming Stable Dividends** On April 2, Bank of Communications responded to investors' questions regarding valuation enhancement and increasing dividend ratios raised on March 19 via an interactive platform. The bank stated: "We have also noticed that institutional investors' attention to our bank continues to rise. In the future, we will continue to manage our operations well, strive to maintain a stable and progressive development trend, and strengthen our operational fundamentals; at the same time, we will continue to enhance communication with the market to increase value recognition." Bank of Communications stated that regarding dividends, it always adheres to the principle of maximizing investor value, maintaining a dividend payout ratio of over 30% for 14 consecutive years, and will continue to provide substantial and stable dividend returns to investors based on solid operational performance According to the explanation by He Zhaobin, Secretary of the Board of Directors of Bank of Communications, at the performance press conference, on March 27, Bank of Communications held a board meeting to review and approve the "2025 Profit Distribution Plan," which will continue the mid-term dividend policy. In the second half of the year, a cash dividend of RMB 0.1684 per share (including tax) will be distributed to all shareholders, totaling RMB 14.88 billion. On this basis, along with the already distributed interim dividend for 2025, the total cash dividend per share for Bank of Communications in 2025 will be RMB 0.3247, with a total cash dividend of RMB 28.692 billion. This accounts for 30.0% of the net profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders and 32.3% of the net profit attributable to the ordinary shareholders of the parent company, maintaining a dividend payout ratio of over 30% for 14 consecutive years. **Chairman's Remarks Spark Controversy, Investors Seek Explanation** Another publicly traded bank that has attracted considerable attention has found itself in controversy due to remarks made by its chairman during the performance press conference. At the 2025 performance press conference of China Merchants Bank, Chairman Miao Jianmin responded to the company's "moat" by stating that the true moat of China Merchants Bank is internalizing the "customer-centric" concept into the corporate culture and transforming it into the daily behavior of employees. He specifically cited an example: "If you visit a branch of China Merchants Bank outside of working hours, or after 5 PM on a weekday, what do you see? The employees of China Merchants Bank are dedicated to their jobs; our colleagues rarely leave work on time, which is not easy and quite hard. Last Friday, after China Merchants Bank released its 2025 performance report, our colleagues in the board office quickly communicated and exchanged ideas with domestic and foreign analysts and investors on Friday night and Saturday, and compiled market opinions. This reflects the company culture, and I believe this is the biggest 'moat.'" This statement has led to various interpretations from the outside world, with some investors leaving messages on the Shanghai Stock Exchange interaction platform asking China Merchants Bank to explain the executive's remarks. Despite the controversy, the "Q&A session transcript of the 2025 performance press conference" disclosed on China Merchants Bank's official website did not edit this part and retained the statement. It is noteworthy that when asked how to maintain market mechanisms and competitive advantages in the context of homogenized competition among banks, Miao Jianmin further stated that marketization and specialization are the fundamental characteristics of China Merchants Bank and will not be affected by other factors, such as salary reform not impacting the marketization of China Merchants Bank. He reiterated that China Merchants Bank has internalized specialization, marketization, and "customer-centric" into its corporate culture, which is the biggest "moat." According to China Merchants Bank's annual report, as of the end of 2025, the group had a total of 121,585 employees (including dispatched personnel). 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