The four major banks shut down 187 outlets within half a year

The four major firms have lost weight and closed 187 outlets within half a year

The semi-annual report reveals the overall optimization trend of bank structural adjustments, the increase in technology, and the reduction of more than 20,000 employees in the four major banks

Yangcheng Evening News reporter Dai Manman

　　With the end of August, the four major banks that have received much attention in the banking industry, China, Agriculture, Industry, and Construction, have been released one after another. The total assets of the four major banks are close to 120 trillion yuan (119.99 trillion yuan), and the total net profit is 554.219 billion yuan.

Among them, the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank all achieved double-digit net profit growth.

While profits are picking up, the four major banks that earn 3 billion yuan a day have closed 187 outlets and reduced their employees by 22,355 in the past six months.

Under the background of narrowing net interest margin, intensified competition in the industry, and digital transformation, behind these data, adjustment of outlet structure and optimization of total volume have become keywords.

　　A total of 3 billion yuan in net profit per day and NPL ratio "one rise and one fall"

　　Data show that as of the end of June this year, the total assets of the four state-owned banks totaled 119.99 trillion yuan, of which the total assets of ICBC continued to top the list at 35.14 trillion yuan, and the total assets of China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China were 2.983 billion yuan and 2.87 billion yuan respectively. Yuan and 2.632 billion yuan.

The difference with the net profit of the same period last year was negative, the net profit growth of the four major banks in the first half of this year was close to or more than double digits.

　　In the first half of this year, the four major banks had a combined net profit of more than 554.2 billion yuan, equivalent to an average daily profit of about 3 billion yuan.

Among them, ICBC achieved a net profit of 164.5 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%; CCB’s net profit was 154.106 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.92%; Agricultural Bank’s net profit was 122.833 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.5%; Bank of China’s after-tax profit was 112.813 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase An increase of 11.79%.

Zhang Qingsong, President of the Agricultural Bank of China, commented on the business performance in the first half of the year at the performance announcement: "We have handed in a high-quality mid-term answer sheet."

　　As the NPL identification standards have become more stringent, as of the end of June, ICBC’s NPL ratio was 1.54%, Agricultural Bank’s NPL ratio was 1.5%, CCB’s NPL ratio was 1.53%, and Bank of China’s NPL ratio was 1.30%. The non-performing rate of the bank has decreased to varying degrees from the end of last year.

　　Technology empowerment reduces the number of outlets by 187 within half a year

　　The Yangcheng Evening News reporter noted that the increase or decrease of bank outlets that have received much attention is also reflected in the semi-annual report.

In terms of overall data, the four major banks reduced 187 outlets or institutions in the first half of the year.

Among them, as of the end of June, the number of outlets of Bank of China was 11,519, compared with 11,550 at the end of 2020, a decrease of 31; the Agricultural Bank of China decreased from 22,983 outlets at the end of 2020 to 22,889, a decrease of 94; The number of 14,741 was reduced by 85 to 14,656.

It is worth mentioning that ICBC’s semi-annual report shows that as of the end of June, it had 15,823 business outlets, an increase of 23 compared to the 15,800 in the 2020 annual report.

　　What kind of information is revealed behind the decrease in the number of outlets?

In fact, it can be seen from the statement in the semi-annual report that under the trend of inclusive finance, rural revitalization, and urbanization, and under the premise of keeping the total number of outlets stable, various banks have been proposing “technological empowerment outlets” and “outlet structure” in recent years. Layout optimization" and other terms.

　　CCB pointed out in the semi-annual report that the bank continues to deepen the bank’s overall physical channel construction plan, and leverages its flagship outlets to lead and coordinate its role. The number of flagship outlets across the bank has reached 1,484; it has promoted inefficient and dense outlets to merge or relocate. In the first half of the year, 192 outlets were relocated, removed and merged.

At the same time, we will continue to improve the intelligent service level and customer experience of our business outlets, and build 7 new smart banks in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shaoguan, Jiangmen and other places.

　　Behind the changes in the number of bank outlets, the outlets themselves are also undergoing changes. Focusing on the people's livelihood field has allowed bank outlets to break the barriers and "do multiple jobs."

Taking the construction behavior as an example, as of the end of June, all 37 branches have carried out the work of smart government affairs outlets. The types of business openings include taxation, social security, education, transportation and other 19 categories, and 14,100 "workers' harbors" have been opened to the society, accumulatively The number of people served exceeds 161 million.

　　Increased degree of intelligence, the number of employees decreased by 22,355 in the first half of the year

　　In addition to the "slimming" of outlets, Yangcheng Evening News reporters compared the 2021 semi-annual report with the 2020 annual report and found that the number of personnel in the four major banks in the first half of the year also decreased by 22,355.

　　Among them, ICBC decreased from 440,000 to 430,000 at the end of last year, Agricultural Bank decreased from 459,000 to 454,081, Bank of China decreased from 30,9084 to 305,594, and China Construction Bank decreased from 349,671 to 345,755. In total, the four major banks decreased in the first half of the year. 22,355 people (Note: The above data does not include labor dispatch).

　　Behind the reduction in personnel, on the one hand, thanks to the empowerment of technology and the activation of smart branch devices, the marketing effectiveness of the branch has been further enhanced. At the same time, it has benefited from the continuous optimization of human resources by online channels including handheld banking, online banking and self-service banking. .

The Agricultural Bank of China pointed out in its semi-annual report that it continues to optimize the layout of grassroots operations, streamline the internal institutions of branches, reduce the proportion of middle and back offices and personnel, and enrich the front-line staff of front-line business operations.

　　ICBC stated in its semi-annual report that as of the end of June, the bank had a total of 430,000 employees, including 407,000 employees in domestic branches, 7,000 employees in major domestic holding companies, and 16,000 employees in overseas institutions.

As for the reason for the reduction in personnel, the semi-annual report also gave a more detailed explanation, that is, due to the large number of retirees in the first half of the year, the number of employees at the end of the reporting period declined compared with the end of the previous year.

After the intensive recruitment of fresh graduates on campus in the second half of the year, the total number of employees is expected to remain around 440,000 at the end of the year.