Shenzhen Development Bank, controlled by buyout firm Newbridge Capital, said first-quarter profit more than doubled as it increased loan margins and boosted revenue with new products. Net income climbed to 535 million yuan from 233 million yuan a year earlier, the bank said. The figures were calculated using mainland accounting standards. The mainland raised lending rates three times in the past year while deposit rates rose only twice, making loans more profitable for banks. '[Shenzhen Development Bank has] carved out a niche in personal loans and is doing very well,' said Wu Yonggang, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities. Net interest income surged 44 per cent to 2.14 billion yuan in the quarter, the bank said. Interest income accounted for about 90 per cent of Shenzhen Development Bank's operating income in the period. Shenzhen Development Bank's retail loans, mainly mortgages, jumped 95 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier. Total lending increased 19 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the company said. It did not provide a first-quarter figure for deposits. The bank attributed its profit growth to continuing 'strong business development and efficient management of spread and balance sheet'. Shenzhen Development Bank introduced new mortgage, foreign-exchange wealth management and trade finance products in the quarter. The capital adequacy ratio, a measure of financial strength, climbed to 3.8 per cent as of March 31 from 3.7 per cent as at the end of last year, falling short of the government-mandated 8 per cent. Its bad-loan ratio stood at 7.68 per cent as at the end of last month, down from 7.99 per cent at the end of last year, the lender said. The bank released earnings after mainland markets closed. The company's A shares rose 5 per cent, the daily maximum as its share reforms have not been completed, to 1.18 yuan yesterday in Shenzhen. They have almost quadrupled in the past year, adding about 35 billion yuan in market value. San Francisco-based Newbridge Capital bought 17.9 per cent of Shenzhen Development Bank in May 2004. The holding was diluted in October 2005 when the bank sold US$100 million of new shares - equivalent to a 7 per cent stake - to General Electric, making the United States company its second-largest investor.