Agricultural Bank of China ups money for bad loans

Agricultural Bank of China (1288.HKG, 601288.SHA) is bracing for more bad weather, setting aside more money for future bad loans amidst the nation’s economic slowdown, Bloomberg reported, citing a Tuesday Hong Kong exchange filing. The bank boosted provisions for potential soured credit by 56% to RMB15.6 billion (US$2.5 billion) in the three months ended 30 June from a year earlier, according to the filing yesterday. The operating environment for Chinese banks is deteriorating amid an economic slowdown; credit expansion in the world’s second-largest economy plunged last month and investment spending unexpectedly slowed, adding risks to growth as a property slump threatens more defaults.