ICBC awaits audit of troubled Bank of Jinzhou

The president of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd said on Thursday the bank will abide by the principles of marketization and the rule of law regarding its investment in Bank of Jinzhou Co Ltd, and ensure that the uncertainties associated with the investment are under control.

ICBC, the country's largest State-owned commercial lender by assets, said on July 28 its wholly owned unit, ICBC Financial Asset Investment Co, will invest up to 3 billion yuan ($420 million) in a 10.82 percent stake of Bank of Jinzhou.

China is restructuring Bank of Jinzhou, a troubled city commercial lender, by introducing new investors to deal with its nonperforming loans, improve corporate governance, and prevent the triggering of systemic risk.

Gu Shu, president of ICBC, said the bank is still waiting for an external auditor to announce audit results from Bank of Jinzhou.

"Using the audit results as a benchmark, we will revalue the price of Bank of Jinzhou shares by referring to the valuation of similar listed companies. We will also conduct rigorous due diligence on the bank to finally determine the price we offer for the transfer of equity," he said at a news conference announcing ICBC's 2019 interim results.

With an upper limit of 3 billion yuan, the investment will have a relatively small impact on ICBC. As the investment will be made by ICBC Financial Asset Investment Co, any risks associated with the investment will be isolated from the parent bank, he said.

"Bank of Jinzhou will maintain an independent corporate governance system after the equity transfer. Its board of directors will make decisions on whether or not to implement a further capital increase in the future," he said.

In the first half of 2019, ICBC reported a net profit of 168.69 billion yuan, up 5 percent from the same period last year. Operating income amounted to 394.2 billion yuan, representing an increase of 9.1 percent year-on-year.

The bank provided more targeted services for the real economy in the first half. Priorities were given to major national programs, such as the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, and services to the Xiongan New Area, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Belt and Road Initiative.

As of June 30, total loans and advances to customers increased by 851.3 billion yuan from the end of last year.

The quality of loans continued to improve. At the end of June, the nonperforming loan ratio of ICBC declined for 10 consecutive quarters to 1.48 percent, down by 4 basis points from the end of last year. Special mention loans, potentially weak loans presenting an unwarranted credit risk, accounted for 2.71 percent of total loans, falling 21 basis points during the same period.