CCB Profit Rises 5%, Margins Improve as China Buoys Economy

(Bloomberg) -- China Construction Bank Corp.’s profit rose 5.1 percent last year as authorities adjusted their policies to support the economy.

Net income increased to 254.7 billion yuan ($37.9 billion) from 242.3 billion yuan a year earlier, the world’s second-biggest lender by assets said in a filing on Wednesday. That compares with the 258.2 billion yuan average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

While China’s five biggest banks are expected to report the strongest annual profit growth since 2014 after authorities toned down their deleveraging campaign, the increase will be smaller than previously predicted amid a deepening economic slowdown. The increased risk of more corporate defaults is pushing lenders to raise capital and strengthen their balance sheets.

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CCB also named Liu Guiping as its president on Wednesday, to replace retiring Wang Zuji. The lender is the first of China’s big banks to report earnings this season, with larger rival Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. set to follow on Thursday.

Combined profits at the nation’s five biggest state-run lenders may grow by 4.9 percent to over 1 trillion yuan in 2018, slower than the 8 percent pace previously predicted, according to consensus estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The rate is seen accelerating to 7.1 percent this year.

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