BEA doubles ELD issuance, net profit up 74%

Bank of East Asia (BEA) has seen its interim net profit reach a new high at HK$2.67 billion (US$342.6m) in H1 21 ended in June driven by a ‘return to profitability’ for non-interest income and its banking arm in China. The figure represented a 74.3% increase compared with H1 20 when the bank delivered a 50% growth year-on-year (YoY), according to its 2021 interim report. This was mainly due to a decrease in impairment losses in China and Hong Kong SAR. ‘Credit costs improved