Profits at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia), the Hong Kong unit of China's largest lender and the SAR's 11th-biggest bank, surged last year on the back of asset growth, expansion of fee revenue and cost-cutting.
Net profit was HK$482 million, up 46 per cent from 2001, beating a Multex consensus forecast of HK$450 million. That put it among the star performers in a dismal bank reporting season.
The bank's focus on wholesale banking had buffered it from plunging property prices, high credit-card delinquencies and a record number of personal bankruptcies.
But strong profit growth, coupled with the lacklustre economy, prompted the bank to 'adopt a more prudent provision policy', said Jiang Jianqing, ICBC (Asia) chairman and president of its mainland parent, ICBC.
ICBC (Asia) set aside HK$182 million in provisions, up from HK$66 million a year ago, even as its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio fell by 4.5 percentage points to 2.3 per cent.
That included an 87 per cent year-on-year increase in specific provisions to HK$124 million, mostly for loans granted to small and medium-sized firms and individuals before ICBC took over the Union Bank of Hong Kong, the predecessor of ICBC (Asia), two years ago, said ICBC (Asia) chief executive Zhu Qi.
