By Mao Lijun (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-04 16:18

China Construction Bank (CCB), the country's second-largest lender, posted a net profit of 57 billion yuan in the first three quarters.

Also on the list are the Bank of China (BOC), the Bank of Communications (BOCOM) and China Merchants Bank.

"Rapid reform of banking assets and increasing innovation have also enabled Chinese banks to improve corporate governance and risk control," Liu says.

The average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio for the four big State-owned banks - ICBC, CCB, BOC and BOCOM - is now 3.3 percent, compared to more than 22 percent at the end of 2003.

The nation's 12 joint-stock commercial banks now have an average NPL ratio of 2.8 percent, in contrast with 4.22 percent at the end of 2005 and 16.62 at the end of 2001, according to statistics from CBRC.

"Corporate governance is of vital importance in the financial sector," says Li Weian, professor and director of the Research Center of Corporate Governance with Nankai University.

The research center has introduced a corporate governance index to help the government better supervise listed companies and protect investors' interests.

"The index will help ensure rational investment," Li says.

The country's banking regulator says it aims to further improve bank corporate governance through four measures, including enhancing internal controls and risk management, setting criteria to evaluate corporate governance, enforcing a clear responsibility and accountability system and raising the level of transparency in the banking sector.

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