China’s Big Four state-owned banks’ first-quarter earnings growth comes in line with analysts’ expectations

Leading state-owned Chinese banks reported first-quarter profit growth in line with analysts’ expectations while exceeding the mainland’s industry average of a 1.5 per cent profit increase, as they were helped by lower bad-loan provisions and continuing economic recovery.

China Construction Bank led the profit growth among the Big Four state-owned lenders, reporting a net income of 83.1 billion yuan (US$12.85 billion), up 2.8 per cent from the same period in 2020.