Listed banks in mainland China registered flat profits as the second-largest economy combats the ongoing coronavirus pandemic with its highest quarterly growth rate on record.
54 mainland-listed banks posted profits of 1.76 trillion yuan ($270 billion) in the first quarter of 2021, according to an EY report, marking a 0.1 percent year-on-year increase.
Operating income grew 4.93 percent to 5.57 trillion while the non-perfuming loan ratio inched 0.03 percentage points higher to 1.15 percent.
Big Four Banks
And at China’s ‘big four' lenders – ICBC, CCB, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China – profits climbed less than 3 percent and missed analyst expectations.
This was attributed to heightened provisions and the heed to Beijing’s call «sacrifice» profits by cutting fees, rates and loosening terms for loans to small businesses.
Nonetheless, China has outperformed its peers economically after registering 18.3 percent GDP growth in the first quarter – the highest since the country began collecting such records 30 years ago – according to national data.
