BEIJING, May 25 -- Bank of Communications (BoComms), the fifth-largest bank
on the mainland, reported a 42.7 percent increase in first-quarter earnings
yesterday, powered by robust loan growth in the booming mainland economy.
The bank, which is 19.9 percent owned by HSBC Holdings, said it earned 2.9
billion yuan (US$361.6 million) in the first three months of this year.
Analysts expected strong earnings growth from BoComms, as loan growth and
fee income kept rising amid China's economic boom, along with improving credit
quality.
BoComms' earnings are expected to jump about 23 percent to 11.4 billion
yuan this year, according to the consensus forecast of 16 analysts.
"We maintained healthy growth in both loans and deposits in the quarter,
and the structure of our loan customers has improved," the bank said.
The bank reported net interest income, derived from lending, of 8.79
billion yuan, compared with 7.36 billion yuan in the year-ago period.
Strong loan growth did not translate into higher bad loans, as the bank's
nonperforming loan ratio fell to 2.14 percent at the end of the first quarter
compared with 2.37 percent at the end of 2005.
(Source: Shenzhen Daily/ Agencies)
