Profits at Bocom slow as loan losses leap by a third

Bank of Communications (Bocom), the mainland's fifth-largest lender by assets, said net profit climbed 11.5 per cent in the first quarter but impairment losses on loans and advances surged by more than a third year on year.

The profit growth at Bocom, where HSBC has a stake of 19 per cent, was a further slowdown from the 15 per cent reported for the whole of last year. Mainland banks are grappling with fierce competition amid interest rate liberalisation and mounting default risk.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/1223176/profits-bocom-slow-loan-losses-leap-third