Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd said yesterday its bad-loan ratio fell again in 2007 after tight credit monitoring.

The Beijing-based bank has lowered both the non-performing loans ratio and their outstanding value for five straight years, the country's biggest lender said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

The bad loan ratio for new loans, defined as those made since 1999, was kept below two percent, the lender said. It did not supply detailed bad loan figures yesterday.

The bank is scheduled to post its annual report on March 25.

ICBC set up an industry research center in 2003 to improve its risk control management. The bank is gearing up to become one of the world's first-class banks in terms of risk management by 2012.

The bank also set up a database for clients' environmental protection methods, moving in line with the government's campaign to encourage green credit, the bank said.

China's five biggest state-owned banks had 1.11 trillion yuan (US$155 billion) worth of bad loans at the end of 2007, or 8.1 percent of total advances, according to figures from the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

ICBC ended at 6.97 yuan yesterday, up 2.5 percent.

(Shanghai Daily February 20, 2008)