(Economic Observation) China's four major banks earn 3 billion yuan in non-performing loans in the first half of the year

　　China News Service, Beijing, August 30th. Title: China's four major banks earn 3 billion yuan a day in the first half of the year, and their non-performing loan rates all drop

　　China News Agency reporter Wang Enbo

　　As of the evening of August 30, the four major banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China, had all released their first-half results.

In sharp contrast with the negative growth of net profit in the same period last year, the net profit growth of the four major banks in the first half of this year was close to or more than double digits.

　　Among them, ICBC achieved a net profit of 164.5 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 9.8%; CCB’s net profit was 154.106 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.92%; Agricultural Bank’s net profit was 122.833 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.5%; Bank of China achieved this The after-tax profit attributable to shareholders of the Bank was 111.813 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11.79%.

In the first half of the year, the four major banks had a combined net profit of more than 554.2 billion yuan, an average of about 3 billion yuan a day.

　　——The non-performing rate has dropped, and the risk points still exist

　　After the "black swan" of the epidemic, the deterioration of the asset quality of the banking industry is considered inevitable.

In 2020, the non-performing loan ratios of the four major banks have rebounded, but this year has improved.

　　Specifically, as of the end of June, ICBC's non-performing loan ratio was 1.54%, China Construction Bank's non-performing loan ratio was 1.53%, Agricultural Bank's non-performing loan ratio was 1.5%, and the Bank of China's non-performing loan ratio was 1.30%, all of which showed varying degrees of decline from the end of last year.

　　Talking about the reasons for the improvement of asset quality indicators, ICBC Vice President Wang Jingwu introduced that the bank has increased risk prevention and control in key areas and paid close attention to risks in key areas such as local hidden debt, real estate, "two highs" industries, and epidemic-sensitive industries. Strengthen the forward-looking risk identification and prevention of customers with hidden risks and major key accounts.

At the same time, we will manage and control deferred and interest-delayed loans, continue to actively digest loans that have already experienced substantial risks, and further consolidate asset quality.

　　However, there are still some key risk areas that need attention. For example, under the background of economic transformation, some large and medium-sized enterprises with low efficiency and low profit and overburden are gradually exposed.

　　Zhang Qingsong, president of the Agricultural Bank of China, said that the bank has always adhered to a credit policy of strictly controlling loan concentration risks, and the overall risk of large accounts is not prominent.

However, for the emergence of some large and medium-sized enterprise risk signals, the Agricultural Bank of China will actively implement relevant national requirements, conduct risk research and judgment in a forward-looking manner, strengthen risk follow-up monitoring, implement policies and control risks by category, adjust the classification pattern in a timely manner, and do specific provisioning work.

　　——The net profit rebounds, and it is difficult to reproduce the "lying profit"

　　Since the beginning of this year, China's economy as a whole has continued its momentum of stable recovery, and the banking industry has also reaped dividends.

　　The Agricultural Bank of China had the highest net profit growth among the four major banks in the first half of the year.

Zhang Qingsong judged that from the perspective of the whole year, as China's economy continues to rebound, it is expected that net interest income and net fee income will maintain steady growth, and the annual profit growth of the Agricultural Bank will increase steadily and generally improve.

　　But this does not mean that the good old days of the banking industry are back.

ICBC President Liao Lin said that in the first half of last year, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic on the economy, the net profit of the banking industry fell year-on-year. For example, ICBC fell by double digits.

Therefore, the significant increase in bank profit growth in the first half of this year has a certain relationship with last year's base.

　　As a major indicator of bank profitability, the general narrowing of net interest margins also squeezed the banks' ability to make money.

If affected by factors such as the decline in loan yields this year, the Bank of China's net interest margin in the first half of the year was 9 basis points lower than last year.

　　But Liu Jin, the governor of Bank of China, is confident that the net interest margin will pick up.

He said that in the future, the bank will do some more specific work on the double-optimization of deposit volume and price and the refined management of liabilities.

At the same time, with the further control of the epidemic, the fundamentals of China's economy will get better and better. While the bank is reducing fees and concessions and supporting the real economy, the level of loan yields will also gradually rise.

　　——Where will the huge credit funds go in the second half of the year?

　　The interim report of the four major banks also shows that since the beginning of this year, banks have optimized the pace and structure of credit allocation and increased financial support for key areas and weak links of the real economy.

　　For example, in the first half of the year, Bank of China's domestic RMB loans increased by 863.2 billion yuan, a record increase in the same period in history.

Liu Jin said that in the second half of the year, the bank will continue to give full play to its professional advantages, increase foreign trade credit financing, improve the entire chain of financial service plans, and effectively help foreign trade companies stabilize orders, expand markets, and control risks.

Especially for small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises, we will ensure credit supply, strengthen credit support, deepen government-bank-insurance cooperation, and continue to expand the coverage of export credit insurance financing.

　　In the first half of the year, China Construction Bank increased credit allocation in the areas of inclusive finance, advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, and green finance.

The bank’s deputy governor Wang Hao revealed that in the second half of the year, the credit scale will continue to maintain steady growth and the structure will continue to be optimized. It is expected that the interest rates of newly issued loans will remain basically stable as a whole.

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