Lower provisions help Bocom, ICBC, CCB and Postal Savings Bank post strong first-half profit
- Postal Savings Bank of China topped the first-half profit charts among state-owned lenders reporting earnings on Friday
- Bank of Communications president optimistic about the full-year outlook as China’s normalising growth provides a supportive environment for banks
Four leading state-owned Chinese banks on Friday reported double-digit growth in their first-half net profits, aided by lower loan loss provisions and the country’s steady economic growth.
Despite uncertainties surrounding the global economic recovery, the president of Bank of Communications said China’s economic outlook looks bright, which could provide a more supportive environment for banks’ performance for the rest of the year.
“While second-quarter GDP [gross domestic product] growth has lagged market expectation, the overall trend of growth stemming from China’s economic recovery has been set off,” said Liu Jun during the bank’s results briefing on Friday. “We have reached a state where China’s economy is normalising from Covid, despite other [external] uncertainties.”
China’s economy grew by 7.9 per cent in the second quarter, which came below analysts’ estimates of 8 per cent.