Diversification into higher-yield personal loans helped Wing Hang Bank report a 22.4 per cent growth in attributable profit to $770.7 million for the year to December.
Earnings per share grew 22.6 per cent to 3.15 cents, from 2.57 cents a year earlier.
Directors recommended a final dividend of 78 cents a share, boosting the annual payout to $1.26, up 35.4 per cent from 1995.
To celebrate Wing Hang's 60th anniversary, shareholders will also receive a special dividend of 12 cents per share.
Wing Hang saw an 88.3 per cent increase in charge for bad debts, to $116 million, in line with earlier results from listed banks.
A specific provision of $60 million had been made for some potential non-performing loans to the trade finance sector.
The general provision - which stood at $56 million - included 1.2 per cent of total loans, down from 1.3 per cent in the previous year.
