THREE of China’s largest banks posted more than 9 percent first-half net profit growth Friday as bad loans fell in a sign that the lenders are recovering from the COVID-induced hit they took last year.

The results are a far cry from those of last year when the country’s top lenders reported their biggest profit falls in at least a decade at the end of the first half. They compare with a 4-5 percent rise in net profit reported by the three banks in the same period in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

The zero tolerance approach to COVID-19 means China has been able to maintain a relatively high level of commercial activity, even as repeated lockdowns grip other parts of the world.

As a result, China’s largest banks saw easing risks of bad loans and less pressure from regulators urging banks to lower commercial interest rates to businesses as they did last year during the height of the pandemic.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest commercial lender by assets, said its net profit rose 9.87 percent in the first half of 2021 from the same period last year in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday.

Following suit, China’s Bank of Communications Co Ltd (BoCom), the country’s sixth-largest lender by assets, posted a 15.1 percent increase in first-half net profit.

Also on Friday, China Construction Bank Corp (CCB), the country’s second-largest lender by assets, posted a 11.39 percent rise in first-half profit.

All three lenders reported a slight fall in nonperforming loan (NPL) ratios, with ICBC saying its NPL ratio dipped to 1.54 percent at the end of June from 1.58 percent at the end of the first quarter.

BoCom reported a 1.6 percent NPL ratio at the end of the first half, compared to 1.64 percent at the end of the previous quarter, while CCB’s fell to 1.53 percent from 1.56 percent over the same period.

Chinese commercial banks overall posted an 11.1 percent increase in first-half net profit to 1.1 trillion yuan (US$170 billion), according to data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC). (SD-Agencies)