The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's biggest commercial bank, reported outstanding loans of Yn2,960bn at the end of 2002. This represented 25.7 per cent of its total loan portfolio under international standards, a drop of 4.1 per cent from 2001. The bank posted a net profit for 2002 of Yn6.5bn, 9.7 per cent higher than in the previous year.
China Construction Bank, another of the country's state-owned commercial banks, reported that its first quarter 2003 non-performing loan rate was reduced to 14.05 per cent, down 1.85 percentage points from the beginning of the year. A spokesman said the bank had handled Yn16.77bn in bad loans in the first quarter, recovering Yn8.84bn, including Yn8.39bn in liquid assets.