Top China bank ICBC reports flat 2023 profit

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) posted a 0.79 per cent rise in 2023 net profit, the world’s largest lender by assets said in a filing on Wednesday (Mar 27).

The profit of 363.99 billion yuan (S$67.9 billion) slightly exceeded an estimate of 359 billion yuan in a poll of 19 analysts, LSEG data showed.

ICBC and Bank of Communications (BoCom), which kicked off earnings reporting of China’s five biggest state banks, reported barely any profit growth in 2023 amid a sputtering economy.

ICBC’s net interest margin – a key gauge of profitability, stood at 1.61 per cent at the end of last year, narrowed from 1.67 per cent at the end of September in 2023.

ICBC said it has increased risk controls of real estate loans.

“The Bank strengthened intelligent monitoring and early warning of real estate loans, developed differentiated risk control plans for each real estate customer, and accelerated the risk disposal of key real estate enterprises,” it said.

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Earlier, BoCom said it needed to strengthen risk control over the sector.

ICBC posted a non-performing loan ratio of 1.36 per cent at the end of 2023, unchanged from the end of September. Its real estate non-performing loan ratio was 5.37 per cent at the end of last year, compared with 6.14 per cent a year earlier. REUTERS