BOC Q1 net profit up 8.2 pct

Bank of China (BOC), the nation's third-largest lender by asset value, said Thursday its net profit rose 8.2 percent year on year to 39.82 billion yuan (6.39 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2013.

The growth was slower than the annual net profit increase of 12.2 percent recorded in 2012.

Net interest income climbed 10.5 percent year on year to reach 66.96 billion yuan in the first quarter, the BOC said in a statement.

Non-interest income gained 12.12 percent to 38.49 billion yuan, with income from commissions and service fees surging 16.92 percent, according to the statement.

The bank's non-performing loan ratio declined by 0.04 percentage point from three months earlier to 0.91 percent at the end of March.

As of the end of March, the BOC's assets totaled 13.24 trillion yuan, up 4.43 percent from the end of 2012, while its liabilities climbed 4.41 percent to 12.34 trillion yuan.