Listed banks report stable increase in FY profit

Many listed banks in China registered robust growth in net profit last year with improved asset quality, preliminary earnings data showed by Monday, even as analysts warned of a spike in bad loans this year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Analysts said asset quality improved at most banks after they readjusted their credit structure by issuing a larger amount of consumer loans and mortgage loans, which are less sensitive to economic cycles than loans issued to the manufacturing sector. Besides, banks also stepped up efforts to write off nonperforming loans.

Out of the 24 listed banks that had issued preliminary earnings estimates by Monday, 19 or nearly 80 percent of the total reported double-digit net profit growth on a yearly basis.