Profit of 17 major Chinese banks hit 298.7 bn yuan

The profit of 17 major Chinese banks hit 298.7 billion yuan (US$41.1 billion) in 2007 in comparison to 36.4 billion yuan in 2002, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Chairman Liu Mingkang said Friday.

The sector's non-performing loans ratio dropped from 23.6 percent in 2002 to 6.7 percent in 2007, Liu said at a CBRC work conference.

Total assets of financial institutions in the banking sector amounted to 52.6 trillion yuan by the end of 2007, up from 23.7 trillion yuan in 2002.

By September, 136 banks, or 78.9 percent of the total, met the capital adequacy requirement, up from only eight, or 0.6 percent of the total, in 2003, he said.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of Communications are among those 17 major banks.