China Construction Bank (CCB), the nation's second-biggest lender, registered 119.7 billion yuan ($19.6 billion) in net profits in the first half of this year, up 12.63 percent from the same period last year, according to its half-year report on Sunday.

The bank saw 251.4 billion yuan in operational income, an increase of 10.75 percent year-on-year, with 0.48 yuan earnings per share.

CCB said that the rise in profitability was attributable to the increase in interest-bearing assets. Its net interest income grew by 10.59 percent from the same period last year. Moreover, it has witnessed stable increases in fees and commission.

The annualized return on average assets stood at 1.66 percent. The net interest margin was 2.71 percent, the same as last year.

By the end of June, the bank possessed 14.9 trillion yuan in total assets, up 6.34 percent from the end of last year. The total liabilities were 13.9 trillion yuan, up 6.41 percent from the end of last year.

The non-performing loans (NPL) stood at 80.3 billion yuan, increased by 5.7 billion yuan from the end of last year. The NPL ratio remained the same with the end of last year, at 0.99 percent.