Beijing
CZBank, one of China’s 12 nationwide joint-stock commercial banks, saw the balance of its inclusive loans to small businesses reach 221.83 billion yuan (about 34.34 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of June, 9.77 percent more than that at the beginning of the year.
The lender’s net profit attributable to shareholders was 6.85 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 1.12 percent year on year, and its total assets stood at 2.15 trillion yuan at the end of June.
Its operating revenue was 25.9 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 3.02 percent year on year.
The bank’s non-performing loan ratio was 1.5 percent at the end of June, lower than that at the end of March.
The bank officially commenced business in 2004, with its head office in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
Meanwhile, “Financing difficulty for small and micro businesses is a challenge that must be met,” Premier Li said at the meeting. “It is not risk-free. Yet we should not stop our efforts just because of such risks. —Xinhua
