ICBC and BOC reveal subprime exposures

Two of China's largest banks revealed their exposure to the subprime meltdown for the first time on Aug 23, the Financial Times reported. Bank of China said it held nearly US$10 billion in securities backed by subprime US mortgages while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China said it had US$1.23 billion in such securities. The announcements came as both banks presented their second-half results. Their subprime holdings will have little negative impact, because they consist mainly of high-quality bonds and are small relative to the banks' size. Bank of China's total assets are worth US$770 billion while ICBC's subprime holdings make up only about 4% of its foreign exchange investment portfolio. Bank of China is expected to incur small losses while ICBC has lost nothing. The results are in line with analyst forecasts. Both banks reported huge gains; ICBC's net profit rose 62% to US$5.4 billion, while BOC's net profit increased 52% to US$3.84 billion.