China's largest bank posts revenue drop in first three quarters

A branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), reported a year-on-year drop in revenue in the first three quarters on Friday.

ICBC earned about 484 billion yuan ($71.4 billion) in the first nine months of 2016, down 3.9 percent year on year, according to the bank's financial statement.

Net profit in the first nine months of 2016 reached about 223 billion yuan, up 0.5 percent year on year.

The bank's provision coverage ratio, a measure of the funds set aside to cover bad loans, stood at 136 percent by the end of September, below the alarm threshold of 150 percent set by the banking watchdog.

Other large Chinese banks posted mixed performances in the first three quarters.

China Construction Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China also reported year-on-year revenue drops in the January-September period while Bank of China saw its revenue grow by 3.6 percent year on year. All of them posted year-on-year growth in net profits.