2025 Analysis of Tech Personnel Support Ratios Across 36 Chinese Banks

Definition of the Tech Personnel Support Coefficient

The coefficient is defined as the number of technology‑related staff supporting each 100 million CNY (1 亿元) of bank assets. It is calculated by dividing the headcount of fintech personnel by the asset size (in 100 million CNY).

Sample and Data Sources

Data for 36 representative commercial banks (six state‑owned, 12 joint‑stock, city‑commercial and rural banks) are extracted from 2024 annual reports and public disclosures. The coefficient for each bank ranges from 0.026 to 0.113, i.e., up to 870 fintech staff per trillion CNY of assets. The sample mean is 0.058.

Overall Growth of Fintech Personnel (2023‑2024)

All banks increased their fintech headcount; the average support coefficient exceeds 0.03 (more than 300 staff per trillion CNY).

Six major banks added 111 000 fintech staff by the end of 2024, a 17.09 % year‑over‑year rise.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) leads with 36 000 fintech employees (8.6 % of total staff).

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and Bank of Communications (BoCom) posted the highest growth rates (≈9.6 % and 15.7 % respectively).

Diverging Growth Rates

Year‑over‑year growth rates vary from –16.88 % to +42.53 %.

• Banks with already high support coefficients (e.g., ICBC, China Construction Bank) show flat or negative growth.

• Banks lagging behind (e.g., ABC, BoCom, Beijing Bank, Nanjing Bank) exhibit strong rebounds.

Recruitment Trends vs. Fintech Headcount (2025 Spring)

Spring recruitment numbers for 2025 fell sharply:

ICBC –47.6 %

ABC –69.0 %

Bank of China –17.5 %

China Construction Bank –37.8 %

Despite the cut‑back, fintech headcount continued to rise, often outpacing total employee growth. Example: BoCom fintech staff +15.7 % vs. total staff +1.56 %.

Internal Development of Composite Talent

Many banks have launched internal training programs to cultivate hybrid talent (finance + technology + data). Details are summarized in Table 2 (image).

Deceleration of Fintech Staff Growth Since 2023

Most banks’ fintech staff growth slowed, with many showing double‑digit declines in hiring. Contributing factors identified:

Low profit growth limits capital for talent expansion.

Deeper integration of AI, big data, cloud reduces the need for traditional development staff.

Mature IT governance structures saturate demand for additional tech personnel.

The 2025 delayed‑retirement policy reduces vacancy creation.

Bank‑Type Comparative Analysis

Weighted average support coefficients:

Large state‑owned banks: 0.056 (ICBC, ABC, BoCom above this value).

Joint‑stock banks: 0.073 (CMB, Ping An, Industrial, Bohai above).

City‑commercial banks: 0.053 (Nanjing, Ningbo, Hangzhou, Zhongyuan, Dongguan above).

Rural banks: 0.054 (Shanghai Rural, Changshu Rural, Wuxi Rural above).

Half of the sample banks fall below the overall mean (0.058), indicating uneven talent allocation.

Recruitment Reductions for Specific Functions (2023‑2025)

Spring recruitment plans for 2025 compared with 2024:

ICBC: 4 506 vs. 8 600 (‑47.6 %).

Agricultural Bank: 4 500 vs. 14 500 (‑69.0 %).

Bank of China: 4 700 vs. 5 700 (‑17.5 %).

Construction Bank: ≈2 300 vs. ≈3 700 (‑37.8 %).

Fintech staff trends despite overall headcount contraction:

Traffic Bank: fintech 9 041 (+15.70 %); total staff +1.56 %.

Beijing Bank: information‑tech staff 1 101 (+12.69 %); total staff +3.56 %.

CITIC Bank: total staff –1 425; fintech staff 5 832 (+3.66 %).

Recruitment numbers for technology functions over the past three years (illustrated in Table 3):

ICBC software development: 900 → 500 → 260; data center: 100 → 140 → 130.

Agricultural Bank R&D: 720 → 277 → 344; data center: 116 → 99 → 147; FinTech division: 50 → 30 → 10.

Bank of China software center: 630 → 360 → 220; IT operations: 240 → 66 → 30; FinTech unit: 770 → 50 → 30.

Construction Bank operations data center: 110 → 70 → 20.

Root Causes of Talent Shortage in Smaller Banks

Limited supply of fintech graduates (≈1 000–1 500 annually from 124 universities).

High‑end talent concentrates in first‑tier cities.

Weaker compensation and career prospects.

Insufficient scale economies for tech investment.

Lack of mature talent‑development systems.

Rigid organizational structures causing attrition.

Key Findings

Fintech talent expansion is an industry consensus; staff ratios rise across all asset‑size groups.

Fintech demand remains “counter‑cyclical” despite overall headcount cuts.

Approximately half of the banks lag behind the sample mean support coefficient.

Large, well‑resourced banks have secured a lead in fintech talent reserves.

Mid‑size city and rural banks face structural disadvantages in attracting and retaining talent.

Since 2023, most banks’ fintech staff growth has decelerated, driven by profit pressure, deeper tech integration, mature IT governance, and delayed‑retirement policies.

Illustrative Tables (Images)