Chinese Bank Recovers from LossesThe Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) was finally able to make a profit of 1.561 billion yuan at the end of June, ending the trend of losing money that had lasted for five years consecutively.Shang Fulin, president of ABC, said at the bank's national work meeting, Monday, that in the first half of this year, the bank's operation met with significantly positive turns. In addition to the profits, the bank's credit quality has also largely improved, with the outstanding amount of non-performing loans down by 2.87 percentage points in comparison with the beginning of the year. He said that in the first six months, the bank's deposits increased 164.3 billion yuan, or 29.4 billion yuan more than the same period last year. Loans in Renminbi increased 111.6 billion yuan, or 42.4 billion yuan more than the same period last year and some 12.9 million banking cards were issued. International settlement finished 20.03 billion U.S. dollars, up 23.6 percent. At the same time, ABC recalled more than 1,700 business outlets and streamlined its staff by over 2,400. Shang said in the second half of this year the bank will continue its efforts to improve client services, develop capital sources, continue credit restructuring and further downsize the non-performing loans. |
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