China's largest banks posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, but the size of their buffer against a potential spike in bad loans was revised downward after the regulator pushed them to account more conservatively for loans they made during a two-year lending binge.

　　中国最大的几家银行发布了强于预期的一季度盈利数据，但在监管机构敦促商业银行更加谨慎地统计前两年的信贷狂潮中放出的贷款后，这些银行向下修正了应对可能激增的不良贷款的缓冲资本的规模。

　　Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s capital-adequacy ratio─the amount of capital that banks hold against the perceived risk of their assets─ saw the biggest drop, falling 0.5 percentage point, and wiping out much of the bump it got from the almost 70 billion yuan ($10.8 billion) worth of capital it raised from a convertible-bond sale and rights issue last year.

　　中国工商银行（简称：工行）的资本充足率下跌了0.5个百分点，跌幅最大。去年工行借可转债发行和股权配售募集了近700亿元的资本金，资本充足率也随之提高。但此次下跌几乎完全抹杀了此前的增幅。资本充足率等于银行自有资本对风险加权资产的比率。

　　China's banks sold tens of billions of dollars worth of equity and debt last year in an effort to restore their capital levels, after making 18 trillion yuan in new loans over 2009 and 2010.

　　在2009年和2010年新增贷款18万亿元之后，中国的商业银行去年在股市和债市共计募集资金数百亿元，以充实资本金。

　　A large chunk of that lending─the mainstay of the government's stimulus─went to local government-backed companies that were set up to fund infrastructure projects. But given that infrastructure projects typically don't generate revenue for years if at all, Beijing has started to worry about the scope for local governments to make good on the debt.

　　Reuters周四，行人经过位于北京市中心的中国银行总部大楼。作为中央政府经济刺激计划的基本组成，大部分上述贷款进入了地方融资平台公司。设立这些平台公司主要是为了给基础设施建设项目提供资金。但由于这些项目通常要好几年才能创造收入（有时甚至无法创收），中央政府开始担心地方政府的偿债规模。

　　The banking regulator has since pushed banks to hold more capital against these loans based on the extent to which the projects' cash flows or collateral from the local government covers them.

　　银行业监管机构随后要求各家银行增加资本金以应对这些可能出现问题的贷款。判断依据是前述项目的现金流或作为项目实施主体的地方政府提供的抵押品在多大程度上能够影响贷款的质量。

　　This is a 'one-off impact as Chinese banks adjusted the risk weighting of [local government financing-vehicle loans],' said Lucy Feng, a Hong Kong-based Nomura banking analyst. 'But this has [now] been fully reflected in' the first-quarter disclosures.

　　野村证券驻香港的银行业分析师冯哲（Lucy Feng）说，这是中国商业银行调整了地方融资平台贷款的风险权重之后带来的一次性影响，在一季度披露的财务报告中已经得到了充分反映。

　　ICBC's capital-adequacy ratio stood at 11.77% at the end of March, down from 12.27% at the end of last year and only a shade above the minimum 11.5% mandated by the banking regulator. It was at 11.57% at the end of the third quarter before the bank embarked on its rights issue and bond sale.

　　3月底工行的资本充足率从去年年底的12.27%降到了11.77%，仅略高于银行监管机构规定的11.5%的底线。去年三季度末，在工行开始配股及发行可转债之前，资本充足率仅为11.57%。

　　Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. said its capital-adequacy ratio fell to 11.40% from 11.59% at the end of last year. AgBank has plans to raise its capital level by selling 30 billion yuan worth of subordinated bonds in the near future, despite raking in $22.1 billion last year from its initial public offering.

　　中国农业银行（简称：农行）说其资本充足率从去年年底的11.59%下降至11.40%。尽管在去年首次公开募股中募集了221亿美元的资金，农行还是计划近期发行总值300亿元的人民币次级债券以提高资本金水平。

　　Still, analysts said the latest results don't show signs of the banks' loan quality deteriorating, although government tightening moves in the housing market and government-led infrastructure development will eventually reverse the past decade's trend of improving loan performance.

　　不过，尽管政府在房地产市场的紧缩措施以及政府牵头的基础设施建设最终将逆转过去十年贷款质量不断改善的趋势，但分析师说最新出炉的业绩并不能表明银行的贷款质量有恶化的迹象。

　　Meanwhile, bank profits continued to grow strongly, although at a slower pace than last year, suggesting Beijing's moves to cool the economy are having an impact.

　　与此同时，虽然增长步伐比去年慢，但银行的利润继续强劲增长，这表明中央政府为经济降温的措施正在发挥作用。

　　ICBC, China's largest bank by assets, said its net profit for the three months ended March 31 rose 29% from a year earlier to 53.79 billion yuan, higher than the average forecast of 51.69 billion yuan by five analysts.

　　中国资产规模最大的银行工行表示，截至3月31日的第一季度该行净利润同比增长29%，至537.9亿元，高于此前五位分析师预测的平均值516.9亿元。

　　At Bank of China Ltd., the country's third-largest bank, net income rose 28% to 33.44 billion yuan, above the 31.32 billion yuan forecast by analysts.

　　中国第三大银行中国银行净收入增长28%，至334.4亿元，超出此前分析师预计的313.2亿元。

　　Net profit at China Construction Bank Corp., the second largest of China's banks, rose 34% to 47.19 billion yuan in the first quarter.

　　中国第二大银行中国建设银行（简称：建行）一季度净利润增长34%，至471.9亿元。

　　However, ICBC's first-quarter earnings gain lagged behind its 32% net-profit rise during the fourth quarter, and Bank of China's growth slowed from 34%.

　　但工行一季度利润增幅低于去年四季度32%的水平，中国银行也低于去年四季度34%的水平。

　　On Wednesday, AgBank, China's fourth-largest bank, also reported forecast-beating earnings gains. But its 36% rise in first-quarter earnings was lower than its fourth-quarter growth of 83%.

　　周三，中国第四大银行农行也公布了超出预期的利润增幅，但其一季度36%的利润增幅低于去年四季度83%的水平。

　　China Construction Bank was the exception; its profit growth in the first quarter was faster than the 18% rise in the previous quarter.

　　但建行的情况是个例外：其一季度利润增幅高于去年四季度18%的水平。

　　I expect the profit growth of the whole banking sector to slow this year, as the government's monetary tightening reduces the supply of credit,' said Li Shanshan, a banking analyst at Bocom International in Beijing.

　　交银国际（Bocom International）驻北京的银行业分析师李珊珊说，我预计今年整个银行业的利润增长将放缓，因为政府紧缩货币减少了信贷供给。

　　Beijing has repeatedly raised interest rates and the banks' reserve requirement ratio in recent months in an effort to rein in inflation, which in March rose 5.4% from a year earlier, its fastest rate in almost three years. While banks can charge more for their loans given the tighter credit conditions, the sharp reduction in lending growth has curbed profit growth, analysts said.

　　为了遏制通货膨胀，近几个月来中央政府已经多次加息并提高银行的存款准备金率。3月份通胀同比上升5.4%，是近三年来最快的增幅。分析师说，尽管由于信贷紧缩，银行可以提高贷款利率，但贷款增量的大幅减少已经抑制了利润的增加。