ICBC's First-Half Net Profit Falls as Earnings From Lending Drop

By Kimberley Kao

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by assets, reported lower first-half net profit as net interest income and net fee income both fell.

Net profit declined 1.9% from a year earlier to 166.805 billion yuan, equivalent to $23.50 billion, state-owned ICBC said Friday. That slightly beat the 166.46 billion yuan estimate in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha.

Net interest income, the bank's primary source of earnings, dropped 6.8% to 313.95 billion yuan, as loan interest rates have fallen in China. Net fee and commission income fell 8.2% to 67.405 billion yuan.

Major Chinese banks like ICBC have lowered lending rates in recent quarters as policymakers take steps to prop up a weak housing market and support an economy battling deflation and fragile consumer confidence.

Bank of China, one of China's Big Four lenders, on Thursday reported a 1.2% decline in first-half profit as its margins deteriorated.

Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2024 05:23 ET (09:23 GMT)

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