China Construction Bank Profit Climbs 26% on Higher Margins

China Construction Bank Corp., the world’s second-largest lender by market value, said profit rose 26.3 percent to a record last year on higher loan demand and interest margins.

Net income climbed to 134.8 billion yuan ($20.6 billion), or 0.56 yuan a share, from 106.8 billion yuan, or 0.45 yuan a share a year earlier, the Beijing-based bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange late yesterday. That was less than the 139 billion yuan average of 17 estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.