China Construction Bank eyeing consumer finance for growth

China's second largest State-owned commercial bank by assets is stepping up its efforts to foster new drivers of growth, such as consumer finance, green lending and financial services related to home leasing.

As of the end of 2017, China Construction Bank Corp recorded a 157 percent growth in personal consumer loans from the previous year to 192.7 billion yuan ($30.6 billion). Its green lending, which aims to reduce pollution and to support environmentally friendly businesses, also increased by 13 percent to more than 1 trillion yuan, according to the bank's annual results announced on Wednesday.

"Consumption has become an increasingly strong driving force for economic growth, and we consider retail banking - especially consumer finance - as a very important direction that bank loans will head for," said Wang Zuji, president of China Construction Bank, at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.