Bank of China Q1 net profit up 85%

Bank of China said its first quarter net profit jumped 85% year-on-year to US$3.1 billion on the back of strong interest income, the Wall Street Journal reported. Net interest income rose by 19% to US$5.8 billion, while net fee and commission income surged 83% to US$1.3 billion. The state-run bank also said the cut in China's corporate income tax rate to 25% from 33%, which took effect on January 1, helped drive net profit gains. However, the lender recorded a US$1.5 billion charge for subprime-related investments, up 15% from the end of 2007. The bank had US$4.43 billion in subprime-related investments as of the end of March, a decrease of 11% from the end of last year.