ZCZC
BCN-25
CHINA-BANK-EARNING-GROWTH
China’s listed banks report stable profit growth in H1
BEIJING, Aug. 21, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – China’s listed banks registered
stable growth in net profit in the first half of this year, with better asset
quality, data showed.
Of the 14 listed banks that have released semi-annual reports or earnings
estimates, 13 saw double-digit growth in revenue and 11 saw net profit rise
by more than 10 percent.
China Merchants Bank, one of the largest lenders in China, raked in 50.6
billion yuan (about 7.18 billion U.S. dollars) in net profit attributable to
shareholders, up 13 percent year on year.
Ping An Bank, a Shenzhen-listed lender controlled by Ping An Insurance,
reported a 15.2-percent growth in net profits in the first half, while its
non-performing loan ratio went down 0.07 percentage points from the end of
last year.
Wang Yifeng, an analyst with Everbright Securities, said that the listed
banks are expected to report a 5 to 6-percent growth in combined net profits,
with smaller interest rate spreads putting pressure on second-quarter
revenue.
Amid government push to address risks in the financial sector, the banks
have adopted stricter risk control policies, leading to better asset quality,
analysts said.
By the end of the first half, a total of 13 banks kept their non-performing
loan ratio within 2 percent, with nine seeing a year-on-year decrease in the
ratio, data showed.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1455