China's Big Three banks post rise in first-half net profit

Three of China's "big four" state-owned banks posted an increase in net profit in the first half of the year, according to their interim reports released today.

Boosted by the growth of net interest income, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, the world’s biggest lender by total assets, recorded a net profit of 153.7 billion yuan (US$23.2 billion), up 2 percent year on year. Its net interest income climbed by 7.1 percent to account for three quarters of the 336.7 billion yuan revenue.

The net profit of Bank of China surged 11.5 percent year on year to 103.7 billion yuan, the largest rise among the “big three”, according to its filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, adding that its revenue dropped 5.4 percent, .

The Agricultural Bank of China, meanwhile, saw net profit grow 3.3 percent to 108.59 billion yuan. AgBank, the No. 3 lender in China by  total assets, reported its net interest income rise 7.1 percent during the first six months.

However, all three state-owned banks posted a sharp fall in non-interest income in the first half year, with BOC seeing the biggest tumble of almost 23 percentage points. AgBank suffered a 17 percent decline in service fees and commissions, while ICBC recorded a 9.4 percent drop in its non-interest income.

The non-performing loans ratio of ICBC, BOC and AgBank stood at 1.57 percent, 1.38 percent and 2.19 percent respectively, amid their continuous efforts on risk prevention and control, the reports noted.