Beijing, Oct 26 (IANS): The Bank of China's net profits rose by 10.37 percent to 106.36 billion yuan (about $16 billion) in the first three quarters of the year.

The country's fourth-largest state-run bank's total assets stood at 12.74 trillion yuan by the end of September, while liabilities rose by 7.6 percent to 11.92 trillion yuan.

The bank's net interest income grew by 13.2 percent year-on-year to 189.4 billion yuan, Xinhua reported quoting the bank's quarterly report.

Its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio was 0.93 percent by the end of September, down 0.07 percentage points compared to the level at the end of 2011.

The bank said it strengthened risk controls during the period, especially for government loans and real estate, which account for 13.5 percent of its overall outstanding loans.

The report said the bank's overseas assets amounted to 3.26 trillion yuan by the end of September, accounting for 24 percent of its total assets.