Shenzhen Development Bank Co Ltd<000001> said Tuesday its net profit may hit RMB 5 billion last year, up more than 700% from RMB 614 million in 2008, thanks to lower provisions for bad loans and higher net interest and fee income.

The bank said in a statement that its net interest income rose 3% to RMB 13 billion last year. Total loans grew 27% to RMB 360 billion in 2009. At the end of 2009, its core capital ratio was about 5.5% and its non-performing loan ratio was 0.68%. Its provision coverage ratio for loans had risen to 160% by the end of 2009 from 105% at the beginning of 2009.

The mid-sized lender is expected to announce its 2009 results in March.

The bank, controlled by U.S. private equity firm TPG Inc, is still waiting for Chinese regulators to approve Ping An Insurance (Group) Co's<601318><2318> plan to increase its ownership in the lender to 30% from 5% for US$3.2 billion.

The Shenzhen-based lender said if it takes into account of the RMB 10.7 billion from Ping An, its end-2009 core capital ratio would have been more than 7% on a pro-forma basis.