China Merchants Bank profits grow 6.6 percent in Q1

China Merchants Bank (CMB), the country's leading private bank, said its net profits rose 6.56 percent in the first quarter (Q1) of the year.

CMB's Q1 profits reached 18.4 billion yuan (2.85 billion US dollars), it said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The profit growth was, however, slower than a 15.2-percent jump logged in the same period last year.

CMB's Q1 revenue stood at 58.3 billion yuan, up 14.8 percent year on year.

The bank cited robust retail banking services and the expansion in wealth management and insurance businesses as factors underpinning the profit growth.

CMB's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.81 percent by the end of March, up 0.13 percentage point from the beginning of the year.