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Staff reduction and salary cuts have been the key terms for bank employees in the first half of this year.

According to First Financial's data statistics based on Wind, in the first half of this year, the total number of employees in 42 listed banks has seen a negative growth, and the total compensation has also experienced a negative growth for the first time. Consequently, the average monthly salary per person has similarly seen a negative growth for the first time, indicating that the annual compensation for bank employees may not be optimistic.

Among them, China Merchants Bank still ranks first in the compensation list, with an average monthly salary of 52,000 yuan, but it has decreased by 3.7% compared to 2023. In the first half of 2021, the average monthly salary at China Merchants Bank once reached 58,000 yuan, which means that the average monthly salary of the bank's employees is now 6,000 yuan less than three years ago.

ICBC has reduced staff by over 10,000 in half a year.

In terms of the number of employees, Wind data shows that the total number of employees in the 42 listed banks exceeds 2.56 million, a reduction of about 38,000 compared to the beginning of the year.

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Unlike the first half of last year when most banks increased their staff, most banks have reduced their staff in the first half of this year. Among the 42 listed banks, 32 banks have seen a contraction in the number of employees compared to the beginning of the year.

The changes in the number of employees at the six "large" state-owned banks are the most closely watched. Among them, ICBC has the largest number of staff reductions. The bank's semi-annual report shows that as of the end of June, ICBC had a total of 409,000 employees, a reduction of over 10,000 compared to the end of 2023.

In addition, both China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China have reduced their staff by more than 4,000 compared to the beginning of the year. As of the end of June, China Construction Bank had a total of 372,000 employees, and Agricultural Bank of China had a total of 446,000 employees. Postal Savings Bank of China had a total of 193,000 employees.

Among the six major state-owned banks, only Bank of China is increasing its staff, and it is the one with the most staff increase among the listed banks. As of the end of June, Bank of China had a total of 309,000 employees, an increase of more than 1,700 compared to the beginning of the year.

The total compensation has seen a negative growth for the first time.Although the financial reports of listed banks do not directly disclose the total compensation paid to employees, it is possible to estimate the overall compensation level using the formula "Cash paid to employees and for employees + the ending balance of employee compensation payable - the beginning balance of employee compensation payable." The semi-annual report shows that in the first half of this year, the total compensation of the 42 listed banks was 465.46 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.2% compared to the same period last year, marking the first time in recent years that the semi-annual compensation of listed banks has seen a negative growth.

In fact, since 2021, the growth rate of the total compensation of listed banks has been continuously declining. According to the First Financial Daily's statistics based on Wind data, the growth rates of the total compensation of listed banks in the first half of 2022, 2023, and 2024 were 6.3%, 6.4%, and -0.2%, respectively, with the first half of this year almost experiencing a "free fall" in decline.

Looking at the situation of individual banks, there were 22 banks that achieved positive growth in total compensation in the first half of the year. Among them, only three listed banks achieved double-digit growth (compared to 11 last year), namely Shanghai Bank, Bank of Beijing, and Wuxi Bank, all of which are relatively "small and beautiful" city commercial banks located in regions with strong economic strength. Among them, Shanghai Bank's total compensation increased by 20% year-on-year.

From the semi-annual report, it can be seen that under the operating pressure of the continuous narrowing net interest margin, it has become difficult for bank employees to maintain their current compensation level. A corporate business staff member from a major bank told the First Financial Daily reporter, "In the past, the monthly salary was at least 30,000 yuan, but now the monthly salary received is less than 10,000 yuan, and due to bad debts, they still owe the bank several thousand yuan."

Data shows that the compensation of the six major state-owned banks in the first half of the year almost remained unchanged compared to the same period last year, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Postal Savings Bank of China slightly decreasing, while Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China slightly increased.

Among the joint-stock banks, Industrial Bank and China Merchants Bank also slightly reduced their compensation; CITIC Bank's total compensation in the first half of the year increased by 6.2% year-on-year, with a relatively high growth rate; Ping An Bank, on the other hand, reduced by 8.8% year-on-year.

Negative growth in average monthly compensation per capita for the first time

In terms of per capita compensation, there were two major changes in the first half of this year: first, the scope of listed banks reducing salaries continued to expand, becoming a common phenomenon; second, the average salary reduction of rural commercial banks was the deepest.

Wind data shows that in the first half of the year, the average monthly compensation of listed banks was 35,000 yuan, a decrease of 2.7% compared to the same period last year, which is also the first time in recent years that the average monthly compensation of listed banks has seen a negative growth.Among the 42 listed banks, 30 banks have experienced a decline in average per capita compensation in the first half of the year, an increase of 13 from the 17 banks in the same period last year. Among them, China Merchants Bank has seen a salary reduction for several consecutive years, with an average monthly salary of 52,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.7% (compared to a 2.4% decrease in the first half of last year), but it still ranks first in the compensation list and is also the only bank among the 42 listed banks with an average monthly salary exceeding 50,000 yuan. In the first half of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, the average monthly salary of China Merchants Bank was 58,000 yuan, 55,000 yuan, 54,000 yuan, and 52,000 yuan, respectively. This means that now, the average monthly salary of China Merchants Bank is about 6,000 yuan less than it was three years ago.

Industrial Bank followed closely, with an average monthly salary of 47,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 7.8%; Nanjing Bank and Changshu Bank had an average monthly salary of 46,700 yuan; Suzhou Bank and China Zheshang Bank had an average monthly salary of 46,500 yuan, all showing a downward trend.

Jiangsu Bank, which has been a "dark horse" in per capita compensation in the past two years, even fell out of the top 5, with an average monthly income of 45,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a significant year-on-year decrease of 11.5%.

Ping An Bank, which once shared the top two spots in the average monthly salary ranking with China Merchants Bank, is also experiencing a continuous salary reduction, with an average monthly salary of 42,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 1.4%.

The compensation of state-owned large banks is also declining, with the average compensation in the first half of the year generally ranging from 24,000 yuan to 28,000 yuan. Among them, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and Bank of Communications saw a slight year-on-year decrease; while the Postal Savings Bank of China had an average monthly salary of 25,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a 10.2% decrease from the same period last year, which is a significant drop; in addition, the China Construction Bank also saw a year-on-year decrease of 5.3%.

In terms of rural commercial banks, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank had an average monthly salary of 26,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 21.3%, the highest decline, compared to 33,000 yuan in the same period last year; Suzhou Rural Commercial Bank had an average monthly salary of 31,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 15.4%, following closely.

Overall, the average monthly salary of rural commercial banks has the highest average decline, reaching 4.3%; followed by joint-stock banks, with a decline of 2.82%; then state-owned large banks, with a decline of 2.79%; and finally, city commercial banks, with a decline of 1.6%.

However, some banks have seen an increase in compensation against the trend. In the first half of the year, not only did Shanghai Bank significantly expand its compensation pool, but its employee income also increased significantly, with an average monthly salary of 42,000 yuan in the first half of the year, a significant increase of 16.1% compared to 36,000 yuan in the first half of last year, making it the bank with the highest increase in per capita compensation among listed banks. In addition, Wuxi Bank, Zijin Bank, Jiangyin Bank, and Zhengzhou Bank have seen an increase in average monthly salary, all ranging between 25,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan.