By Kosaku Narioka

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China reported a rise in first-quarter net profit, supported by lower interest expenses, even as it booked higher credit costs.

The Chinese bank said Wednesday that net profit rose 3.3% from a year earlier to 86.94 billion yuan, equivalent to $12.72 billion, for the three months ended March.

The lender said net interest income--the difference between interest earned on loans and that paid on deposits--increased 7.5% to 168.53 billion yuan, partly due to lower interest expenses.

Net fee and commission income was also higher, climbing 5.2% to 40.92 billion yuan.

The bank booked credit impairment losses of 69.29 billion yuan, wider than the 56.97 billion yuan in the year-earlier period.

The lender's nonperforming-loan ratio was 1.31% at the end of March, unchanged from the end of 2025.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2026 05:11 ET (09:11 GMT)

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