The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announced Tuesday that in the first four months of this year it recorded operational profits of 15.089 billion yuan (about US$1.82 billion), an increase of 64.2 billion yuan or 74.07 percent on the same period last year.
The bank's rate of non-performing loans had dropped to 21.21 percent, down 1.33 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
Statistics released by the ICBC show that in the first quarter, the bank granted new loans of 186.7 billion yuan, 129.2 billion yuan more than the same period last year.
Deposits increased by 255.5 billion yuan, doubling the figure for the same period last year.
A spokesman for the bank said the ICBC had taken steps to reinforce services that do not require personal contact, including phone banking and on-line banking, to help control the spread of SARS.
(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2003)
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