(Yicai Global) July 18 -- The 40 Chinese listed lenders will distribute cash bonuses worth CNY584.8 billion (USD81.6 billion) this year, achieving a new record high.

China's six large state-owned banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank of China -- will distribute CNY404.9 billion, equal to about 70 percent of the total. ICBC is the only one issuing over CNY100 billion in cash dividends.

Thirty-four of the lenders had already started issuing the dividends as of yesterday. ABC, China Everbright Bank, China Citic Bank, and three others have yet to begin, but all 40 lenders are expected to complete the issuance by this week.

Larger urban commercial lenders, such as Bank of Beijing, Bank of Shanghai, and Bank of Jiangsu, each distributed over CNY5 billion (USD597.3 million) worth of cash dividends, while some smaller ones, including Bank of Ruifeng, Jiangsu Zhangjiagang Rural Commercial Bank, Jiangsu Jiangyin Rural Commercial Bank, and Wuxi Rural Commercial Bank, distributed less than CNY500 million (USD69.7 million) each.

Of the 40 banks, 36 shared over 20 percent of their profits to shareholders in the form of cash dividends. The ratio among the big state-owned lenders exceeded 30 percent.

China's large state-owned banks kept the dividend ratio above 30 percent in the past several years, experts told Yicai Global. Some joint stock banks and urban commercial banks also included a 30 percent dividends ratio to their article of incorporation, as they take into account various factors, such as shareholders' returns and long-term value growth, and are confident about future operations, the experts noted.

Some market players are worried banks will cut dividends because risks related to the property sector and local government financing vehicles will put the banks' profitability under pressure, especially after Goldman Sachs downgraded ICBC, Industrial Bank, ABC, Bank of Communications, and Huaxia Bank to 'Sell' earlier this month.

But most institutes are still optimistic about the future performance of bank stocks.

Exposure to risks from government-related businesses and the property sector will only have a limited impact on listed banks, Zheshang Securities said in a research note. The delinquency rate of property loans was at about 4.1 percent among listed banks, so provisions are relatively sufficient, it noted, estimating a low chance for dividend ratios to decrease in the future.

"From the perspective of the government debt ratio, the Chinese government is way below governments of major developed countries," Sun Ting, chief analyst for the non-banking financial industry at Haitong Securities, said in a research note.

Unlike the UK's and the US', China's government didn't undergo a stark jump in assets debt ratio since the year 2000 but required to keep it at a low level of around 20 percent, according to the research note.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione