CCB H1 net profit up 3.69 percent

China Construction Bank Corporation's net profit rose 3.69 percent year on year in the first six months as it attracted more customers and controlled costs.

The 138.3 billion yuan (US$20.8) profit makes it the country’s second most profitable lender among the “big five” state-owned commercial banks.

CCB attributed its steady growth in profitability to three key factors: a 3.25 percent increase in net interest income, more customers and  more services, and cost management, according to its half-year filing released late Wednesday.

In concert with the regulatory requirement of financial de-leveraging, the bank “adhered to prudent operations” and lent more to the real economy in the first half, it said. The bank added another 13.9 billion yuan  for impairment losses, bringing the total to 60.5 billion yuan, compared with the same period last year.

 As of end-June, the bank’s domestic corporate loans and advances reached 6.34 trillion yuan, up  8.2 percent over the end of 2016, mainly for the infrastructure sector and small and micro enterprises.

The bank’s non-performing loan ratio fell 0.01 percentage points to 1.51 percent, lower than the average of 1.6 percent for  the nation’s top five banks.

 The country’s big five have all announced their interim results, with a combined net profit of more than 540 billion yuan.