ICBC, AgBank post better-than-expected Q3 net profit, while smaller rival Bank of China falls well short of estimates
All the nation’s “big-four” state-owned banks have now posted their quarterly results, after China Construction Bank last week reported Q3 net profits rose 4.1pc
China’s three biggest banks reported mixed quarterly figures on Monday, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Agricultural Bank of China posting better-than-expected profits on improving assets quality for the third quarter, while smaller rival Bank of China fell short of expectations.
ICBC, China’s largest bank by assets, said net profit rose 3.4 per cent on year to 75 billion yuan (US$11.3 billion) for the three months through September. Forecasts had suggested a 2.5 per cent year on year profit rise.
ICBC’s non-performing loan ratio inched down to 1.56 per cent at the end of September, from 1.57 per cent a quarter ago, reflecting improving assets quality, the lender said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing.
The bank’s third quarter results continued a stable and heathy development that is both “better than-planned” and “better than the same period a year ago,” reflecting strengthening business vitality, the Beijing-based bank said in a statement. “Asset quality is improving,” it added
Smaller rival Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank), meanwhile, the country’s third-biggest lender by assets, also reported net profit gained by a higher-than-expected 4.9-per cent to 51.4 billion yuan in the third quarter.
The Chinese banking industry as a whole is widely expected to post better results this year. The optimism is backed by an economy that is on a firmer footing and the deleverage drive that is beneficiary to their assets quarter in a longer term