Bank of Communications (BoCom) reported a 3.5 percent first-half profit rise, beating analysts’ forecast of a 4.4 percent decrease.
The mainland’s fifth largest commercial lender said it earned 39 billion yuan (A$7.41 billion) in the six months ended on June 30, an increase of 3.5 percent from a year ago, after it strengthened risk management to contain bad loan growth.
Non-performing loan ration by BoCom stood at 1.51 percent as at June 30, compared to 1.52 percent at the end of last year.
Net interest income between January and June dropped 8 percent from a year earlier owing to a shrinking net interest margin. BoCom’s net interest margin decreased 40 basis points to 1.57 percent at the end of June.
In the first quarter of this year, the bank posted a year-on-year profit growth of 1.35 percent