A woman passes a Bank of China branch in Nantong, Jiangsu province. On Wednesday, the nation's fourth-largest lender reported earnings. Xu Ruiping / for China Daily

Overseas operations planned to be focus this year, president says

Bank of China Ltd executives expressed confidence on Wednesday that the institution will get through the nation's interest rate liberalization program with a competitive edge.

The bank, the nation's fourth-biggest lender by market capitalization, reported a 12.35 percent profit rise to 163.7 billion yuan ($26.4 billion) in 2013.

Officials said that the bank's ability to derive high levels of income from areas other than interest, combined with expansive overseas operations, will help it get through the reform phase more easily than its peers.

Investors are concerned that fiercer competition during and after reform will hurt profitability in the industry.

"Bank of China's net interest margin will be wider than its industry peers' levels," President Chen Siqing told a news conference in Beijing.

In 2012, non-interest income, mainly service charges and proprietary trading returns, accounted for 30 percent of operating income, which totaled 408 billion yuan.

The average net interest rate margin expanded to 2.24 percen, up 9 basis points from the previous year.

In comparison, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, another of the "Big Four" State-owned lenders, said on Tuesday that its net interest margin narrowed by 2 bps to 2.79 percentage points in 2013.

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