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July 13 (Reuters) - Qingdao city in China's debt-laden Shandong province has set up a company to bail out its cash-strapped local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), sources said, as regional governments rush to reduce debt risks in a wobbly economy. The government of Qingdao and the China Development Bank did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment. While no LGFV in China has defaulted in the public markets, cases of delinquencies in the private debt market are increasing, worrying Beijing. Tianjin LGFV bonds yield more than 514 bps over government bonds, compared with 200 bps for Shandong bonds, reflecting the elevated risks. Fund manager Zhou said although he is bullish on LGFV bonds, "the first priority is to be absolutely diversified in investment.

Persons: Qingdao's, Xi Jinping, LGFVs, Goldman Sachs, Zhai Jianye, Zhai, It's, Zhou Tingzuo, Ning Yong, Zhou, Samuel Shen, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: Dongdin Industrial Group, China Development Bank, Southwest Securities, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Commercial Bank of China, SS, Shoupu Fund Management Co, Ning Yong Fu Fund Management, Thomson Locations: Qingdao, China's, Shandong, China, Shandong LGFVs, Beijing, Big, Jinan, Weifang, Liaoning, Hunan, Shanghai, Tianjin, Singapore

☆ Goldman's China banks downgrade based on 'pessimistic assumptions' - state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) downgrade of some major Chinese lenders to "Sell" ratings is based on "pessimistic assumptions," state-backed Securities Times said in an editorial on Friday, as worries over the banking sector deepen amid a rocky economy. "It is not advisable to be bearish on the fundamentals of Chinese banks based on pessimistic assumptions, and to a large extent there is a misinterpretation," the newspaper said. Chinese bank shares listed in Hong Kong tumbled after the report was released. Investors are concerned about Chinese banks' exposure to local government debt, earnings risks stemming from such debt, and diverging fortunes among individual banks, Goldman said in the report. Chinese policymakers are stepping up efforts to boost infrastructure investment and are tackling hidden local government debts, the Securities Times said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Ella Cao, Bernard Orr, Ziyi Tang, Jamie Freed Organizations: Securities Times, Agricultural Bank of China, Commercial Bank of China, Industrial Bank, Investors, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Hong Kong

☆ China bank shares slump in Hong Kong after Goldman downgrades
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, July 5 (Reuters) - Chinese banking shares listed in Hong Kong tumbled on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs downgraded top lenders including Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) in a report that raised questions over the sector's financial health. Meanwhile, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Industrial Bank (601166.SS) were both downgraded from "Buy" to "Sell". Agbank shares fell roughly 3% in Hong Kong, on track for their biggest one-day loss in nearly two months. In its report, Goldman said it expects Chinese banks' dividend yields would come in at 4-6% this year, two percentage points lower than before the adjustment. The bank also revised down pre-provision operating profit estimates for large Chinese banks by 5-6% this year and next.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Agbank, Himani Sarkar, Kim Coghill Organizations: Agricultural Bank of China, Mainland Banks Index, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Industrial Bank, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Hong Kong, Mainland, ICBC's Hong Kong, China

[1/3] People walk past a branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in Beijing, China April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Florence LoSummarySummary Companies Top five lenders post shrinking net marginsNon-performing loans hold steady at all fiveQ1 net profit growth mostly flatSHANGHAI/BEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - Five of China's largest lenders posted shrinking margins in the first quarter on Friday, as loan re-pricing bites. Following suit were Agricultural Bank of China Ltd (AgBank) (601288.SS), Bank of China (BoC) (601988.SS), China's Bank of Communications Co Ltd (BoCom) (601328.SS), and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB)(601939.SS), all posting dips in their NIM. All lenders posted flat to around 5% net profit growth with BoCom logging the highest first-quarter net profit at over 5%. AgBank came in second with 1.75% as the others posted flat net profit growth over the same period.

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Chinese banks are ramping up efforts to promote international use of the yuan, and reporting a surge in cross-border yuan business from the country's booming trade with Russia and deepening ties with the Middle East. Harbin Bank Co (6138.HK), in China's Heilongjiang province neighboring Russia, saw its cross-border yuan business grow nine-fold last year to a record, as the Sino-Russia trade grew briskly after the Ukraine war began. Industrial Bank Co (601166.SS), whose cross-border, corporate payment business jumped 50% last year, has also been actively promoting CIPS, China's own global payment system. The bank said it currently helps 153 foreign and Chinese banks connect to CIPS, to advance China's yuan internationalisation strategy. "Increasing the use of yuan in pricing, and settling cross-border oil and gas trade will give a boost to yuan internationalization."

REUTERS/Florence Lo/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies Five big lenders post over 3.5% annual net profit growthNet interest margin shrank at all fiveNPL ratios steady or down for all fiveBEIJING, March 30 (Reuters) - China's Big Five lenders posted above 3.5% annual net profit growth this week, but warned that the foundations of the country's recovery were "not yet solid". China's Bank of Communications Co Ltd (BoCom) (601328.SS), and Bank of China (BoC) (601988.SS) both posted just over 5% annual net profit growth on Thursday. Even higher figures came from the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd (601288.SS) (AgBank) on Thursday and China Construction Bank Corp on Wednesday, which both posted over 7% annual net profit growth. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS), , the world's largest listed lender by assets, came in at 3.5% annual net profit growth. NPLsWhile all five lenders posted steady or falling non-performing loan ratios, they also logged shrinking net interest margins (NIM), a key gauge of bank profitability.

☆ Three of China's largest lenders report over 6% rise in third quarter profit
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] People stand at a booth of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Tingshu WangBEIJING, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Three of China's largest lenders posted third quarter profit rises of over 6% as non-performing loan ratios shrunk. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) (601398.SS), the world's largest commercial lender by assets, said net profit rose 6.8% year-on-year in the third quarter in a Friday filing. All three lenders posted slight falls in non-performing loan ratios in the third quarter. Both ICBC and AgBank posted NPL ratios of 1.4% for the end of September compared to 1.41% at the end of the quarter before.

☆ BNP Paribas gets regulatory nod to set up China asset management joint venture
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Selena Li | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Oct 18 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) has received Chinese regulatory approval to start building an asset management venture with Agricultural Bank of China (AgBank) (601288.SS), the two companies said, allowing the French firm to tap a $4 trillion market. Reuters reported in September last year that BNP's asset management arm was in talks to form a wealth management venture with a unit of AgBank, taking advantage of China's opening up of its financial markets for foreigners. BNP Paribas Asset Management and ABC Wealth Management, a wealth arm of AgBank, will fund the new platform, according to Monday's filing. Since China deregulated financial markets in 2019, allowing foreign asset managers to set up majority-owned ventures with local banks, a flurry of foreign firms including BlackRock and Amundi have launched majority-controlled units locally. The new platform will add to BNP Paribas' 49%-owned asset management joint venture with brokerage firm Haitong Securities which mainly runs mutual funds.

☆ China's smaller banks cut deposit rates to ease margin pressure
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Several Chinese city commercial banks and rural commercial lenders have cut their rates on a range of deposits this week, according to statements released on the banks' websites. The smaller lenders followed in the footsteps of some of China's biggest state-owned banks, which implemented rate cuts earlier this month. Peiqian Liu, China economist at Natwest Markets, noted the commercial banks' deposit rate cuts are part of the monetary policy transmission mechanism after the central bank cut key policy rates in August. "This rate cut by commercial banks will help improve the profit margin slightly and is technically opening up more space for further (benchmark lending) rate cuts." Four of the five of China’s largest banks, except for Bank of China, reported falling net interest margins (NIMs) in the second quarter.

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