Lending controls by China's central bank are unlikely to affect China Construction Bank (CCB)'s profits next year, the bank's chairman told reporters on Friday.

Two passengers walk by a China Construction Bank outlet in Shanghai on September 13. The bank's chairman said loan cap by the central bank is unlikely to hit its profits next year.[Xinhua]

China's central bank has capped 2008 quotas for new lending by the Big Four state banks, Bank of China, CCB, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China, as part of its campaign to curb credit growth and keep the economy on an even keel.

CCB was told to keep new loans in 2008 within this year's target, which was 350 billion yuan ($47.83 billion), banking sources said this week.