Glonghui, April 30 | Bank of America said that the Bank of China's net profit for the first quarter fell 2.9% year-on-year to 56 billion yuan, 24% of the bank's full-year forecast. Core earnings fell 5.2% year-on-year to 27% of the full-year forecast. According to the bank, the Bank of China's growth trend is weak compared to other state-owned banks, partly based on the Bank of China's strong profit performance in the first quarter of last year, which benefited from overseas and foreign exchange business at the time. The common equity tier 1 capital ratio increased by 39 points quarterly to 12%, and the return on equity fell 1.3 percentage points to 9.4% year-on-year. The bank maintained its profit forecast for the Bank of China. The target price was raised from HK$3.8 to HK$3.95, based on the assumption of 100 pips of capital cost reduction and continued macroeconomic recovery. At the same time, it maintains a “buy” investment rating based on high dividend rates.