Reply #4: Bank of China shares fall sharply on worries of subprime losses [View All]

Mon Jan 21, 2:06 AM ET
HONG KONG (AFP) - Shares in Bank of China (BOC) fell sharply Monday on reports it might post lower profits or even a loss when announcing 2007 results in April, due to writedowns on struggling subprime investments.

The bank may announce a significant writedown on its 7.95 billion US dollars of investments in securities linked to US subprime mortgages, the South China Morning Post reported Monday, citing unnamed mainland banking sources.

Senior banking regulators have already warned the mainland leadership that BOC, as well as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, would have to make provisions for all their subprime-linked assets, the report added.

BOC spokesman Wang Zhaowen declined comment on the report.

Hong Kong-listed shares in BOC fell 4.7 percent in morning trade Monday on the report. At the end of the session, shares were off 0.17 dollars at 3.43.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080121/bs_afp/chinahongkongbankingcompanyearnings_080121060533;_ylt=AvAubBzim6t7GMbXpQCSmHOmOrgF