Profits fall at China's biggest bank

Profits fell at China's biggest bank ICBC in the third quarter, it said Friday, as it saw rising bad loans in the world's second-largest economy.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's net profit for the July to September period was 72.58 billion yuan ($10.7 billion), compared with 72.74 billion yuan in the same period last year, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to 1.62 percent at the end of September, it said, up from 1.50 percent at the end of last year. Another state-owned banking giant, Bank of China, also reported rising bad loans earlier this week, up to 1.48 percent from 1.43 percent.

Concerns are increasing about rising credit risks in China, as Beijing seeks to use rapid credit expansion to boost economic growth -- stuck at 6.7 percent for the third quarter running, according to official figures.

Analysts have warned that a debt-fuelled rebound might be short-lived and ballooning borrowings risk sparking a financial crisis if bad loans and bond defaults spread.