Bank of China FY profit at 81b yuan

Beijing - Chinese banks are likely to maintain their position as the world's most profitable lenders, as record lending last year helped bolster the world's third-largest economy amid the financial crisis, strengthening their profitability.

The Bank of China, the nation's third largest lender by market value, kicked off the full-year earnings season of Chinese banks on Tuesday by reporting a net profit of 81.07 billion yuan for 2009, up 26 percent from a year earlier.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, the nation's two largest banks by assets, are expected to report earnings of some 128.7 billion yuan and 108.6 billion yuan respectively, Bloomberg reported, based on a survey of 16 industry analysts. Both could beat the $13.4 billion (91.1 billion yuan) posted by Goldman Sachs.