China’s third-largest bank has reported its first annual fall in quarterly profits in three years as bad loans rose by the most on record, an ominous sign for other big lenders due to report full-year results this week.
Analysts say the weaker than expected profit for Agricultural Bank of China reflects rising defaults amid an economic slowdown. China’s gross domestic product grew at its slowest pace in 24 years last year, and recent data suggest a further deceleration in the early months of 2015.
AgBank said on Tuesday night that net income had fallen by 5 per cent in the last three months of 2014, the first annual decline in quarterly earnings since 2011.
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