The Bank of Communications, with assets totaling 15 trillion, has actually made a basic mistake. Its position as the fifth-largest bank is now at risk.

Ask AI · How will industry competition evolve after Postal Savings Bank surpasses Bank of Communications?

(Image source: Visual China)

By | Xiao Wang

Edited by | Sun Chunfang

Produced by | Jingjing · Tencent Xiaoman Studio

“Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience the above-mentioned errors have caused to investors.” On the evening of March 30, Bank of Communications issued a correction announcement and an apology.

In the Profit Distribution Plan announcement for fiscal year 2025 disclosed by BoCom on March 27, BoCom said that for fiscal year 2025, it would distribute cash dividends of 3.247 yuan per share (including tax), for a total cash dividend of 28.692 billion yuan, with a cash dividend payout ratio of 32.3%.

After the correction, BoCom’s annual dividend distribution for fiscal year 2025 was cash dividends of 3.247 yuan per 10 shares (including tax). The erroneous version magnified the dividend distribution by 10 times.

Because listed banks are large-scale, announcements are an important window for communication and exchange with investors, and the profit distribution plan is also one of the most closely watched announcements by investors. The clearly obvious typo mentioned above triggered widespread mockery in the market. “The world is a huge makeshift troupe!” “A state-owned bank, how could it make such a basic mistake?”

BoCom said this was due to insufficient proofreading, and that the original announcement contained a text error. It also said it will further strengthen the compilation and review of information disclosure to ensure the quality of information disclosure.

Bank of Communications is one of China’s six state-owned commercial banks. With a long history, it is known as “century-old BoCom.” As of the end of 2025, Bank of Communications had total assets of 15.55 trillion yuan. For all of 2025, operating income was 265.071 billion yuan, up 2.02% year over year; net profit was 95.622 billion yuan, up 2.18% year over year.

Although it has long ranked among the major state-owned banks, Bank of Communications’ total asset scale is significantly smaller than that of the four major state-owned banks, ICBC, BOC, ABC, and CCB. And after Postal Savings Bank was included among the major state-owned banks in 2019, as Postal Savings Bank’s asset scale and business developed rapidly, it gradually caught up with BoCom, and the “fifth-largest state-owned bank” position of Bank of Communications is no longer secure.

As of the end of 2025, Postal Savings Bank’s total assets had reached 18.68 trillion yuan, its revenue scale was 355.728 billion yuan, and its net profit was 87.623 billion yuan. Postal Savings Bank’s asset scale and revenue scale have surpassed those of Bank of Communications, replacing it as the “fifth-largest state-owned bank.”