China's banking industry reported 583.4 billion yuan (US$85.79 billion) in after-tax profits in 2008, up 30.6 percent year on year, said the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Thursday.

CBRC Chairman Liu Mingkang released the figure at a press conference on Chinese bank measures against the global financial crisis.

A report on the CBRC website said the after-tax profits for 2007 stood at 446.7 billion yuan, while the pre-tax profit for 2006 was 337.9 billion yuan.

"The impact on China's banking system is limited and the risks are under control," said Liu.

The non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio fell to 2.45 percent by the end of December, down 3.71 percentage points from the beginning of 2008.

But excluding the write-off of 800 billion yuan of NPLs by the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) and bad loans arising from the May 12 earthquake, the NPL ratio fell by only 0.84 percentage points last year.

Chinese banks extended 1.6 trillion yuan of new loans in January, a monthly record, after reporting strong loan growth in November and December.

Liu dismissed concerns that the record loans growth could result in huge increases in bad loans in the economic slowdown.

"A general analysis and investigation shows their fundamentals are normal," he said. The loans, which supported infrastructure, research, health care and education, would aid economic recovery.

Asked if and when the ABC would seek overseas strategic investors, Liu said the bank would make its own decision out of commercial interests and for strategic development.

Chinese state-owned commercial banks, including the Bank of China and China Construction Bank, sold shares to foreign strategic investors for management expertise before going public.

But many of the overseas investors sold their stakes early this year amid efforts to boost their balance sheets.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2009)