China's ICBC reports 14% rise in '08 loans

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-20 14:02

Lending by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) rose 14.2 percent year-on-year in 2008 to a record high of 530 billion yuan (US$77.5 billion), the bank said at a work meeting Monday.

About half of the total went to small and medium-sized companies and individuals, in line with a government call to boost domestic demand by supporting smaller companies and private consumption.

Lending to smaller companies stood at 175.9 billion yuan, while loans to individuals reached 77.3 billion yuan, according to ICBC. The bank didn't provide comparable figures for the previous year.

The bank also lent 28.8 billion yuan for reconstruction following the May 12 quake in southwest China.

ICBC said most of the loan increase came in the fourth quarter, in line with the national policy to relax credit conditions.

The bank said its provision ratio, a measure of risk management, stood at more than 120 percent of total non-performing loans last year, exceeding the 100 percent standard for "good" risk management established by China's bank regulators.

ICBC said it reduced holdings of bonds issued by US mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by "a remarkable amount" last year and "successfully avoided huge losses by selling the bonds." It didn't disclose specific figures.