Uneasy outlook ahead for lenders

Listed lenders from China may see zero or negligible profit growth next year, with some likely to incur marginal losses, a new report said on Monday.

The nonperforming loans ratio, which measures bad loans as a percentage of total loans, will rise to around 2 percent for listed banks, compared with around 1.59 percent now, said the report published by the Institute of International Finance at Bank of China Ltd.

The country's fourth-largest commercial lender also warned that the provision coverage ratio will inch toward 150 percent - the minimum level set by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.