ICBC says Q1 profit jumps 76% on fees, loan growth

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country's largest lender, said on April 29 its first-quarter after-tax profit surged 76.1% year-on-year on loan growth and income from intermediate business.

First-quarter profit was 33.28 billion yuan (about 4.75 billion U.S. dollars), or 0.1 yuan per share, under international accounting standards.

The performance reflected its rapidly expanding intermediate business and better margins on corporate loans.

Net income from fees and commissions for businesses such as credit cards and fund sales soared 86.4% to 12.1 billion yuan. Net interest receipts rose 36.4% to 66.3 billion yuan.

ICBC was outperformed by its rivals in the first quarter. The Bank of Communications said on Tuesday its quarterly profit more than doubled, while the Bank of China, the country's third biggest, said on Monday that profits grew 85%.

ICBC said domestic outstanding loans reached 3.9 trillion yuan at the end of March, up 3.9%. Deposit balances totaled 7.2 billion yuan, up 4.9%.

The non-performing loan rate was 2.51% at end-March, 0.23 point lower than the same period last year. Revenues grew 37.8% to 75.6 billion yuan.

ICBC shares climbed 1.42% to 6.45 yuan in Shanghai and 0.32% to 6.18 yuan in Hong Kong on Tuesday.