CCB warns of risks despite improved Q4 net profit

Beijing

CHINA Construction Bank Corp (CCB) posted on Sunday a better than expected 2.1 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, with its soured loans ratio holding steady.

China's second-biggest lender by assets after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), like the country's other big banks, warned of the challenges that the impact of the coronavirus epidemic has brought.

"The epidemic brings new risks and challenges to the banking sector," CCB chairman Tian Guoli said in a statement. The bank also said it will pay close attention to risks relating to the recent turmoil of global financial markets.

CCB saw profit rise to 41.39 billion yuan (S$8.3 billion) in the October to December period, according to a Reuters calculation based on the company's annual figures.

That compares with 40.55 billion yuan a year earlier, and a 39.6 billion yuan average of analysts' estimates compiled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate. SmartEstimates give more weight to recent estimates by analysts who are more consistently accurate.

CCB's results follow the pattern set by the results last week of three of China's largest state banks.

CCB's net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, fell slightly to 2.26 per cent at end-December, from 2.27 per cent at end-September. REUTERS