China's banking sector expected to see 3% profit growth in Q2, Q3: report

BEIJING -- Chinese commercial banks are likely to see their profits grow by around 3 percent in both the second and third quarters of 2021, forecast the Bank of China Research Institute in a recent report.

In the first half of the year, obvious signs of improvement were seen in the profitability of China's banking sector, while the asset quality was stable, said the report.

Net profits of Chinese commercial banks in the first quarter rose 2.4 percent year on year to total 614.3 billion yuan ($95.07 billion), earlier data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission showed.

The research institute also predicted that the sector will present a better growth trend in profits and strong risk offset ability in the third quarter.

The business scale of the banks will maintain a relatively high growth rate in the third quarter, with credit resources of the banks further tilted toward areas such as sci-tech innovation and rural revitalization, according to the report.