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Non-performing loans of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) dropped by 14.38 billion yuan (US$1.74 billion) or 1.91 percentage points by the end of March over the start of the year, and the non-performing rate fell to 23.6 percent.
A spokesman for the ICBC said that in the first quarter the bank's operational profits rose sharply to 14.71 billion yuan, an increase of 4.77 billion yuan or 48 percent over the same period last year.
After deducting bad debt reserves and writing off past financial losses, the book profit was 3.98 billion yuan, an increase of 1.24 billion yuan or 45 percent from the same period last year.
He attributed the sharp profit growth to the strong growth in the national economy and the government's financial policies. The bank's improving management level and effective control of operational costs were also factors.
(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2003)
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