Banks may post lower H1 profits

Chinese banks may report lower half-year earnings this year due to increased provisions for bad loans and narrowing spreads, analysts said.

Huaxia Bank, the first of China's major listed lenders to announce interim results on Saturday, posted a 13.6-percent fall in net profit and a 11.3-percent decline in operating revenue, which could be a microcosm of the financial performance of 14 listed Chinese banks in the first half.

The first-half earnings of banks are likely to drop some 3 to 7 percent from a year earlier despite whopping credit growth, according to analysts.