Q.    Where can I obtain some financial information about CCB?

A.    You may click on Financial Highlights under Investor Relations to view the financial information about CCB or you can click onto Annual and Interim Reports to obtain a detailed financial report of the company.

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Q.    Who are the external auditors of CCB?

A.    Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP as the domestic accounting firm of CCB and the onshore subsidiaries, Ernst & Young as the international accounting firm of CCB and the offshore subsidiaries.

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Q.    Does CCB have an audit committee to monitor the company’s financials?

A.    The Board of Directors has set up 5 specialised Board Committees and one of them being the Audit Committee.  You may click on Board of Directors under Corporate Governance to find out about the name of the committee members and their responsibilities.

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Q.    When does CCB report its financial results?

A.    You may click on Corporate Calendar under Investor Relations for upcoming events and dates.

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Q.    Is the result announcements presentation available for viewing?

  A.    You may click on Results Announcements and Presentation under Investor Relations for result announcements presentation.  

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  Q.   Main measures for supporting pandemic prevention and control and assisting economic and social development

  A.    

Since the beginning of the year, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the economy and society. CCB proactively responded to challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, conscientiously discharged its responsibilities as a large bank, strove to promote pandemic prevention and control and serve the coordinated development of Chinese economy and society based on digitalised operating models.

Quickly sprang into actions and implemented the directives. After the outbreak emerged, CCB immediately set up a leading group on pandemic prevention and control, and took the lead in introducing "Ten Measures" of financial services and "Twenty Rules" for pandemic prevention and staff caring in its outlets. CCB has given full support to Hubei and Wuhan, the main battlefields of the pandemic. Domestic and overseas institutions of CCB gathered supplies from multiple sources to support front-line personnel combating the pandemic. Through its subsidiary CCB Life, CCB provided free insurance coverage and hospitalization subsidies to Hubei medical workers and those from other provinces participating in the fight against the pandemic in Hubei, and offered free "COVID-19 Prevention Insurance" to frontline workers nationwide combating the pandemic. CCB mobilized its employees to actively support the fight against the pandemic. Since the outbreak, CCB has made over RMB250 million in donations and contributions in kind.

Increased credit support and gave precision assistance in upholding stability on the six fronts and security in the six areas. CCB increased support to meet funding demands in fields relating to pandemic prevention and control. During the first quarter of 2020, loans granted to domestic enterprises engaged in pandemic prevention and control totaled RMB96.9 billion. In securing key areas concerning the national economy and the people's livelihood, CCB increased credit support to key enterprises and major infrastructure projects in sectors such as railway, civil aviation, power and energy, etc. Leveraging its advantages in comprehensive financial services, CCB provided support for the coordinated resumption of work and production of industrial chain and supply chain enterprises through its network supply chain financing service. In supporting the reopening of commercial businesses and household consumption, CCB increased lending in credit cards and personal loans. It also initiated the establishment of a RMB5 billion fund for the battle against the pandemic and stable development, mobilizing social capital to actively participate.

Adopted differentiated credit polices to help enterprises overcome difficulties. CCB offered preferential interest rates to loans newly granted to inclusive small and micro enterprises and reduced the lending rate to no more than 4.5%p.a.. For industries relating to pandemic prevention and control, CCB further reduced the annual lending rate by 0.4 percentage point. CCB established a green channel for loan approval to quickly respond to emergency needs. It launched exclusive products such as "Yunyi Loan". CCB rolled out 26 special support measures for Hubei, giving sufficient credit support to enterprises who were temporarily experiencing hardships due to the pandemic.

Enhanced digital prevention and control and governance capabilities in the fight against the pandemic through technology. CCB adopted the national "Epidemic Prevention Health Code" and added the epidemic prevention and control service function on its smart government service platform. It launched the “CCB Smart Community Management Platform", providing a coverage of 2.46 million urban communities, villages and enterprises, and over 50 million users by the end of April. In cooperation with specialized internet medical institutions, CCB established the "COVID-19 Real-time Assistance Platform". It launched the "Online Vegetables Basket" service to help merchants run business online and make it convenient for residents to shop at home. Through 610,000 "Yunongtong" service outlets in more than 500,000 towns and administrative villages across China, CCB promoted pandemic prevention and control and supported poverty alleviation in rural areas. Leveraging the advantages of CCB University in online training, CCB offered online "pandemic prevention classes" for the public. CCB promoted "online operation toolkit for enterprises" to assist enterprises in resumption of work and production.

With the spread of COVID-19 overseas, while ensuring pandemic prevention and control and employee protection, overseas institutions of CCB proactively donated pandemic prevention supplies to support the local fight against the pandemic. On the international version of the "Intelligent Enterprise Matching Platform", CCB established a special section for "Global Pandemic Prevention Supplies" to match domestic and overseas supply and procurement demand of pandemic prevention materials. For export of such materials, CCB provided "green channel" credit support, free cross-border settlement, low-cost trade financing and other financial services support.

Next, the Group will pay close attention to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in macro-policy, continue to promote refined management, enhance digital operation, effectively satisfy customer demand, promote the orderly development of businesses, and firmly hold the bottom line of risk prevention and control, while supporting COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control as well as resumption of work and production, and making due contributions to the high-quality development of the economy. 

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  Q.   Earnings in Q1 2020 and main influencing factors

  A.    

In the first quarter of 2020, the Group reaped net profit of RMB80,981 million, up 3.92% over the same period last year. The main factors are as follows:

Net interest income was RMB133,499 million, up 6.74% over the same period last year. The stable growth of interest-earning assets offset the year-on-year decrease in net interest margin.

Net fee and commission income was RMB45,376 million, up 5.45% over the same period last year, which was mainly attributed to increased deployment of online products, driving key fee-based business products to grow rapidly.

Other net non-interest income (International Accounting Standards) was RMB7,530 million, down 29.76% from the same period last year, which was mainly due to the impact of the pandemic. The fluctuations in financial markets resulted in changes in valuation of relevant assets.

Operating expenses (International Accounting Standards) were RMB38,887 million, down 1.28% from the same period last year. Cost-to-income ratio (International Accounting Standards) decreased by 1.02 percentage points to 20.16% over the same period last year. Asset impairment losses were RMB49,167 million, up 12.78% over the same period last year.

The Group will adhere to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability and the new development philosophy; spare no effort in providing financial services support for ensuring pandemic prevention and control and maintaining stable economic operation and social development; steadily advance the “Three Major Strategies” of house rental, inclusive finance and FinTech; effectively invigorate the “three communities”, i.e. the government (G-community), businesses (B-community) and customers (C-community); strengthen refined management; gather forces to improve quality and efficiency; enhance comprehensive and proactive risk management; strive to overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and realize stable, balanced development.

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  Q.   Loans in Q1 2020 and key allocation areas

  A.   

The Group actively addressed challenges brought by the pandemic, increasing efforts in granting of credit loans, focusing on promoting pandemic prevention and control and serving the coordinated development of Chinese economy and society. As at the end of the first quarter of 2020, the Group's gross loans and advances to customers were RMB15.98 trillion, up 6.39% over the end of last year.

Corporate loans and advances were RMB8.73 trillion, up 9.93% over the end of last year. They were mainly granted to key areas such as infrastructure and inclusive finance. By increasing credit granting, CCB effectively supported pandemic prevention and control. During the first quarter, it granted a total of RMB96.9 billion to domestic enterprises engaged in pandemic prevention and control. Following closely national key strategic projects, CCB increased efforts to serve the credit demands of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta. (At the end of 2019, loans to the infrastructure sectors reached RMB3.68 trillion, up 6.49% over the beginning of 2019; inclusive finance loans amounted to RMB963,155 million, up 57.88% over the beginning of 2019; loans to strategic emerging industries were RMB533,551 million, up 38.38% over the beginning of 2019.)

Personal loans were RMB6.71 trillion, up 2.43% over the end of last year. Credit card loans and personal housing loans grew steadily. (At the end of 2019, personal housing loans were RMB5.31 trillion, up 11.60% over the beginning of 2019; credit card loans were RMB741,197 million, up 13.79% over the beginning of 2019.)

Discounted bills were RMB499,073 million, up 1.29% over the end of last year. Such notes were mainly used to support enterprises' short-term capital turnover needs.

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  Q.   Inclusive finance loans

  A.   

At the end of 2019, the Group’s inclusive finance loans were RMB963,155 million, up 57.88% over the beginning of 2019; the number of inclusive finance loan borrowers reached 1,325,100, an increase of 307,200 over the beginning of 2019; interest rate of loans to inclusive small and micro enterprises granted within the year was 4.95%.

The Group adhered to its platform-based operation. Guided by the development concept of "digitalisation, platform, ecosystem and empowerment", the Group continuously explored new, smart and eco-friendly modes for inclusive finance, promoted digital precision marketing and carried out digital, whole-process, refined risk management and control, which has ensured high-quality development of its inclusive finance business. As at the end of 2019, new mode products represented by “Quick Loan for Small and Micro Businesses” amounted to over RMB1.7 trillion on a cumulative basis, benefiting nearly 1.03 million small and micro businesses.

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  Q.   Development of deposit business in Q1 2020

  A.   

The Group achieved good deposit growth through the implementation of  digital operation and active peak season marketing.

As at the end of the first quarter of 2020, deposits from customers of the Group were RMB19.71 trillion, an increase of RMB1,340.5 billion or 7.30% over the end of last year; its proportion in total liabilities was 79.54%, up 0.38 percentage point over the end of last year. In terms of deposit mix:

Time deposits were RMB8.72 trillion, an increase of RMB694,185 million or 8.65% over the end of last year; demand deposits were RMB10.77 trillion, an increase of RMB634,938 million or 6.26% over the end of last year.

Personal deposits were RMB9.78 trillion, an increase of RMB865,051 million or 9.70% over the end of last year; corporate deposits were RMB9.70 trillion, an increase of RMB464,072 million or 5.02% over the end of last year.

The Group will proactively adapt to the situation, adhere to and improve the digital operation model and strengthen its systematic network-based deposit stabilizing and growth strategy in order to promote steady growth of deposit business throughout the year.

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  Q.   Net interest margin in Q1 2020 and main influencing factors

  A.   

In the first quarter of 2020, the net interest margin (NIM) of the Group was 2.19%, down 10 basis points from the same period last year.

The main positive factor was the decrease in interest cost of other interest-bearing liabilities such as interbank deposits and debt securities issued. The main negative factors were increase in costs of general deposits, decrease in loan yield, falling yields in bond and money markets, and changes in asset-liability mix such as decline in proportions of general deposits, loans and bonds.

Affected by multiple factors such as the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, overall downward trend of market interest rates, steady implementation of loan interest rate liberalization and increased competition in deposit business, the Group's NIM is expected to face pressure in 2020.

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  Q.   Growth of fee-based business in Q1 2020

  A.   

The Group leveraged its advantages in FinTech and digital operation, analyzed customer demand in depth, seized market opportunities, increased deployment of online products, and accelerated the development of major fee-based business products.

In the first quarter of 2020, the Group realized net fee and commission income of RMB45,376 million, up 5.45% over the same period last year. Commission on trust and fiduciary activities saw rapid growth, and settlement and clearing business and bank card business, etc. grew steadily.

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  Q.   Investment in FinTech and achievements

  A.   

The Group continued to increase investment in FinTech. In 2019, the Group's investment in FinTech was RMB17,633 million, accounting for 2.60% of operating income (International Accounting Standards). At the end of 2019, the Group had 10,178 technological personnel, accounting for 2.75% of the Groups’ total headcount. In 2020, the Group plans to arrange a total budget for investment in fixed assets of RMB19 billion. Promoting innovation in FinTech and development of new operation models are one of the key focuses of the budget arrangement.

The Group put forth effort to promote the construction of intelligent platforms. It built an enterprise-wide network and information security management system. It established a smart operation maintenance platform with real-time perception, intelligent decision-making and automatic control functions. It also built an AI platform which supports 18 components and covers 381 business scenarios. An Internet of Things platform was put in place to support the application of 5G+ intelligent banking, smart vault, and smart cash box.

The Group used its Fintech strengths to support business development. It built a “scenario-oriented, personalised and intelligent” model of new retail banking, new corporate banking featuring “seamless integration of transactional businesses and emerging businesses”, and “intelligent, efficient and stringent risk control” inclusive finance services. It also established a “comprehensive, intelligent, targeted, timely, proactive and prospective” risk control system.

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  Q.   Asset quality in Q1 2020

  A.   

The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought upon greater uncertainty to the operating businesses of banks. The Group actively evaluated the impact of the pandemic on business operation and asset quality, strengthened the level of refined process management, enhanced proactive risk prevention and control, and improved sustainable development and risk mitigation capabilities.

In the first quarter of 2020, the asset quality of the Group remained stable. The NPL ratio was 1.42%, staying flat compared to the end of last year. The capability to offset risks improved steadily. The ratio of allowances to non-performing loans was 230.27%, up 2.58 percentage points from the end of last year.

The Group will pay close attention to the development of the pandemic and changes in macro-policy, continue to promote comprehensive, proactive, and intelligent risk management, enhance credit governance capability, focus on asset quality control, strive to reduce the impact of the pandemic and ensure key indicators of asset quality are stable, balanced and sustainable throughout the year.

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  Q.   Dividends

  A.   

The Group determines the dividend payout ratio after taking into full account the capital accumulated, regulatory requirements on capital and reasonable investment return to shareholders.

The Group plans to pay an annual cash dividend for 2019 of RMB0.320 per share (inclusive of taxes) to all its shareholders. The total amount of cash dividend is RMB80,004 million, accounting for 30% of the FY2019 after-tax profit attributable to equity shareholders of the Bank on a consolidated basis.

The above-mentioned proposal has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors and will be submitted to the 2019 Annual General Meeting for consideration. If it is approved, dividends will be paid to holders of A- and H-shares whose names appear on the register of members of the Group at the close of the market on 9 July 2020. Cash dividends of A-shares for 2019 are expected to be paid on 10 July 2020, and cash dividends of H-shares on 30 July 2020.