BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural Bank of China, one of the country's biggest lenders, said Friday that it raked in more net profits in the first quarter this year with its asset quality on the mend.
The bank's net profit rose 2.2 percent year on year in the first three months to 55.8 billion yuan (8.1 billion U.S. dollars) on the back of steady growth of business at county-level branches nationwide, said the first quarter report released Friday.
The bank's asset quality is improving, with its bad loan ratio declining to 2.33 percent from 2.37 percent at the end of last year.
Total assets of the bank increased 3.85 percent from the end of last year to 20.3 trillion yuan.
The share price of the Shanghai-listed lender Friday closed flat at 3.38 yuan.
