BEIJING - Ping An Bank, a Shenzhen-listed lender controlled by Ping An Insurance, reported a 15.2-percent growth in net profits in the first half of the year due to strong performance of its retail banking business, according to the bank Thursday.

The company's net profits climbed to 15.4 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) in the first half, according to its financial report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Its revenues increased by 18.5 percent year-on-year to 67.8 billion yuan over the same period.

Revenues of its retail banking business rose 31.7 percent to reach 38.6 billion yuan, accounting for 56.9 percent of the total.

The bank said it increased lending to private as well as small and micro-sized businesses in the first half to bolster the real economy.

Its total assets surpassed 3.5 trillion yuan in the first half, up 5 percent from the end of 2018.

By the end of June, the bank's non-performing loan ratio stood at 1.68 percent, down 0.07 percentage points from the end of last year.