Bank "worker" salary revealed! These three types of positions are undergoing concentrated adjustments

Listed banks’ annual reports disclosed through the halfway point.

As of now, among 57 A-share and H-share banks, 37 have completed the release of their annual performance, and employee compensation details have consequently been made public.

A Securities Times China reporter sorted and analyzed data from 37 banks with complete and comparable figures (including 6 state-owned big banks, 10 joint-stock banks, 15 city commercial banks, and 6 rural commercial banks), finding that listed banks’ labor cost outlays have generally increased.

Meanwhile, last year the 37 banks collectively hired more than 6,500 additional employees. The newly added staff continued to be重点 deployed mainly in areas such as business marketing and information technology. Employee groups whose roles as tellers and education backgrounds are not particularly advantageous have continued to be optimized.

In terms of average compensation per employee, joint-stock banks—characterized by flexible mechanisms, high market-oriented levels, and branch institutions concentrated in developed cities—continue to rank at the top. However, Zhejiang Gongshang Bank and Everbright Bank saw relatively large declines in compensation.

On an absolute scale, China CITIC Bank’s average compensation per employee continued a slight uptick to more than RMB 600,000, keeping it firmly in first place. Luzhou Bank and China Merchants Bank followed closely; for the latter, its average compensation per employee has fallen for four consecutive years.

Joint-stock banks: compensation overall down

According to information, bank employee compensation is mainly reflected in the “employee expenses” under the “business and administrative expenses” line item in the income statement. Some banks also refer to it as “labor costs,” “employee costs,” and so on.

“Employee expenses” break down into items such as wages and bonuses, as well as social insurance and the “five insurances and one housing fund,” union dues, training fees, and more. Among them, “wages and bonuses” are what we commonly refer to as employees’ wages; the other sub-items are collectively referred to as benefits.

Among the aforementioned 37 banks, most have increased investment in human resources to help ensure the landing of their strategies. For instance, Luzhou Bank and Weihai Bank increased their human-resources investment by 17% and 12% respectively last year. Chongqing Bank also rose to nearly 10%, placing it near the top among peers.

At the same time, total labor costs for 11 banks declined slightly. Specifically, Everbright Bank saw a year-on-year decrease of nearly 10%, with the sharpest decline among the leading ones. Jiangxi Bank, Dongguan Rural Commercial Bank, and Zhejiang Gongshang Bank also had declines exceeding 5%.

In terms of average compensation per employee, calculated based on equivalent headcount (the average of employee numbers at the beginning and end of the year), among the 37 banks mentioned above, compensation for joint-stock banks fell overall, yet they still remain at the absolute leading level.

Among them, China CITIC Bank’s average compensation per employee edged up to RMB 600,000, temporarily ranking first among joint-stock banks. China Merchants Bank’s average compensation per employee, meanwhile, has decreased for four consecutive years, falling back to within RMB 580,000; Industrial Bank kept steady at around RMB 560,000, with a slight year-on-year increase.

Zhejiang Gongshang Bank’s average compensation per employee has also fallen for three consecutive years, down 9% year on year to about RMB 520,000 compared with the previous year. Among the other joint-stock banks, only Everbright Bank had a larger decline than Zhejiang Gongshang Bank: Everbright’s average compensation per employee fell 10.6% year on year to around RMB 420,000.

In addition, the average compensation per employee at China Minsheng Bank, Ping An Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and Bohai Bank all fall within the RMB 420,000 to RMB 500,000 range. Although Huaxia Bank saw a slight increase, its absolute level of average compensation is below RMB 310,000.

In the same period, average compensation per employee at listed city commercial banks is generally around RMB 380,000 and has risen overall. Among them, Luzhou Bank, listed in Hong Kong, kept at RMB 590,000, continuing to rank among the top listed banks; Anhui Bank also exceeded RMB 510,000 in average compensation per employee.

Looking next at the state-owned big banks, although their absolute employee expense outlays are large, their average compensation per employee increased overall last year due to changes in employee structure. For example, Bank of Communications and the Bank of China rose to RMB 455,000 and RMB 370,000 respectively, firmly keeping them among the top among big state-owned banks.

High compensation corresponds to high productivity

Overall, average compensation per employee at listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks is among the top in the banking industry. Behind this are objective factors:

First, listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have relatively concentrated branches and employees, and they are mainly distributed in major cities across the country. They therefore need to offer comparatively attractive compensation to attract talent.

Second, the employee base and educational composition also differ across different types of banks. Taking rural commercial banks rooted in the countryside as an example, small and micro business relies heavily on personnel, and the employee base is generally larger.

State-owned big banks also often have employee counts in the hundreds of thousands. For example, among Bank of Communications’ domestic banking institutions, the share of employees with an undergraduate degree or above is close to 92%, while among employees at Agricultural Bank of China, the share with an undergraduate degree or above is below 79%.

By contrast, for listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks, the share of employees with an undergraduate degree or above is generally above 85%. China CITIC Bank, Industrial Bank, and China Merchants Bank are even higher—exceeding 96%, 93%, and 91% respectively. Their corresponding average compensation per employee is also higher.

In addition, compared with state-owned big banks, listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks have more flexible mechanisms and are more market-oriented. In the face of relatively fierce market competition, to attract talent, the待遇 they offer is also more enticing—especially pay for business backbones and digital talent.

More importantly, matched with high average compensation per employee is the high average per-employee output at listed joint-stock banks and city commercial banks.

Data shows that among the 37 banks mentioned above, a total of 6 have per-capita revenue generation exceeding RMB 2.8 million, including 4 joint-stock banks and 2 city commercial banks.

Among them, China CITIC Bank’s per-capita revenue generation last year was close to RMB 3.2 million, ranking first. Ping An Bank and Industrial Bank followed closely, with per-capita revenue generation of approximately RMB 3.18 million and RMB 3.09 million respectively.

Among city commercial banks, Anhui Bank and Chongqing Bank both had per-capita revenue generation of around RMB 2.8 million, staying at the leading level. Previously, Luzhou Bank had been leading among city commercial banks, but its per-capita revenue generation fell 20% to RMB 2.72 million.

As for state-owned big banks, per-capita revenue generation is generally around RMB 2 million, with year-on-year increases. For instance, Bank of Communications maintained per-capita revenue generation at RMB 2.73 million last year, the highest among state-owned listed banks, which corresponds to the bank’s relatively high per-capita compensation.

Listed rural commercial banks, affected by factors such as a larger employee base and comparatively limited technology capabilities, generally have per-capita revenue generation of within RMB 2 million. Among them, Wuxi Bank, which has a relatively higher per-capita compensation per employee, saw per-capita revenue generation exceed RMB 2.71 million last year.

Overall net hiring

After looking at compensation and per-capita output, finally look at the changes in employee headcount for the 37 listed banks mentioned above: in 2025, total employee numbers increased by more than 6,500 throughout the year, with the incremental figure lower than in 2024. Among the number of banks that hired new employees and those that reduced staff, the counts are basically the same.

Overall, increases in bank employees generally appear in areas such as business marketing and information technology. According to statistics, the six state-owned big banks collectively increased employee numbers by about 1,500. Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications hired about 3,100 and 2,200 additional employees, respectively.

Among them, Bank of Communications has added employees for four consecutive years. Last year, among its domestic banking institutions, the number of sales and business development personnel increased by more than 1,700, and the number of financial technology personnel increased by more than 700, essentially meeting the target of a “10,000-person plan” for financial technology.

Among joint-stock banks, China Merchants Bank has also maintained a long-term growth trend in its employee headcount. 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 corporate finance and retail finance at the bank increased by more than 2,400.

In addition, the annual report indicates that China Merchants Bank focuses on reserving digital and intelligent talent. At the end of last year, R&D personnel exceeded 11,000, accounting for 9.1% of total employees. The bank also stated at the annual performance release conference that it will focus on building “the smart bank #1 in the industry.”

In addition, the banking industry continues to advance adjustments and optimization of employee structure. Overall, banks’ employee reduction targets are relatively consistent in characteristics and are mainly concentrated in three types of employees and roles:

First, roles with relatively high substitutability. For example, teller roles, security guards, telephone customer service, credit card sales, and other positions—these roles may be staffed by full-time employees or by dispatched employees.

Employees in these roles have relatively low compensation and make a relatively lower contribution to bank revenue generation. As digital transformation advances and customer preferences shift, banks have also shut down low-efficiency branches and promoted branch transformation toward a lighter, more intelligent model.

Second, considering quality-and-efficiency improvements and shortening the management radius, banks choose to streamline internal departments, reduce the proportion of middle- and back-office organizations and personnel, and accordingly reduce the number of certain management positions and operational personnel.

Third, employees whose educational background is not advantageous. According to statistics, in 2025, among the six state-owned big banks, the total number of employees with junior college education or below decreased by more than 38,000.

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