Glonghui, April 30 | UBS released a report saying that China Merchants Bank's net profit for the first quarter fell 2% year-on-year to 38.1 billion yuan, lower than the forecast; revenue and profit before provision were basically in line with forecasts. As net interest spreads fell by 27 basis points, net interest income fell 6.2% year-on-year. However, the narrowing of net interest spreads slowed and fell 2 basis points to 2.02% quarterly. Fee revenue fell 19.4% year-on-year, which was lower than expected. The bank estimates that CMB's credit costs for the first quarter of this year will be 86 basis points, a year-on-year reduction of 20 basis points. The bank mentioned that CMB's fee revenue was weak. Among them, expenses related to financial management business fell 44% year over year, asset management expenses fell 6%, bank card fee revenue fell 16%, and settlement and settlement expenses increased 5%. UBS believes that the market will respond negatively to the recruitment performance, giving it a “neutral” rating, with a target price of HK$25.6.