Pudong Bank FY net profit up 5.4%

SHANGHAI: Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB), a medium-sized commercial bank, said its net profit grew 5.4 percent to 13.2 billion yuan last year.

The lender, which is partly owned by Citigroup Inc, also said 2009 revenue rose 5.43 percent to 36.4 billion yuan in a full-year preliminary statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Earnings per share was 1.62 yuan, the company said.

"Chinese banks' earnings growth, which rely heavily on net interest income, slowed significantly in 2009, when the gap between lending and deposit rates narrowed," said Zhang Jing, an analyst at China Minzu Securities.