Major China lenders' profits up in quarter

Four out of the five largest state-owned banks in the mainland saw single-digit growths in their net profit in the first quarter, while some non-performing loans also rose.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398), China's largest lender by assets, said its net profit in the first three months was up 3 percent year-on-year to 84.49 billion yuan (HK$92.54 billion).

In comparison, Agricultural Bank of China (1288)'s first-quarter net profit was up 4.79 percent to 64.18 billion yuan, Bank of Communications (3328)'s first-quarter net profit was up 1.8 percent to 21.45 billion yuan, and China Construction Bank's (0939) net profit was up 5.12 percent to 80.85 billion yuan.

In terms of non-performing loan ratios, an indicator of credit risk, ICBC's NPL ratio was flat at 1.43 percent, ABC's NPL ratio was at 1.4 percent while Bocom's NPL ratio was up 12 basis points to 1.59 percent over the end of the previous year. CCB's NPL ratio was 1.42 percent, staying flat compared to the end of last year.

Net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, narrowed by 4 basis points on a year-on-year basis to 1.55 percent for Bocom dropped 11 basis points year-on-year to 2.2 percent for ICBC and went down 10 basis points year-on-year to 2.19 percent for CCB.

Operating income for ICBC amounted to 206.18 billion yuan in the first quarter, up by 2.16 percent from a year before. Net interest income was 154.28 billion yuan, up by 4.11 percent year-on-year. The tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 14.19 percent.

Meanwhile, Bank of Chongqing (1963) said net profit in the first quarter surged 13.7 percent year-on-year to 1.37 billion yuan.