Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

NET profit of China’s listed banks maintained growth in the first half of 2017, albeit at a slightly slower pace than the same period a year ago, accounting firm PwC said in a report Wednesday.

In addition, both the nonperforming loan ratio and overdue loan ratio declined, according to the report.

Listed banks chalked up a net profit of 849.72 billion yuan (US$127.47 billion) in the first half of this year, marking a year-on-year increase of 4.5 percent. The pace of growth slowed down slightly compared with the same period in 2016.

Both the overall return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) declined. Except for large commercial banks, the overall ROA of other listed banks has reduced significantly to below 1 percent, according to the report.

However, the listed banks’ asset quality maintained a stable level. As of the end of June, both the nonperforming loan and the special-mention loan ratios of listed banks in all categories had declined compared with the end of 2016.

“The importance of new technology for shifting finance to the Internet has been widely recognized in the industry. Fintech now plays a critical role in risk pricing, resource allocation, data security and risk management,” said Jimmy Leung, PwC China’s financial services leader.