BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Ping An Bank, a Shenzhen-listed lender controlled by Ping An Insurance, posted a mild profit increase in 2017.

The bank saw net profits rise 2.6 percent to 23.2 billion yuan (3.7 billion U.S. dollars) last year, according to a statement filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Revenue slipped 1.8 percent to 105.8 billion yuan, with net income from service charges and commissions climbing 10.1 percent due to credit card service growth.

The bank attributed the profit increase to a shift to retail banking, which contributed 67.6 percent to total net profits last year.

Income and net profits from retail banking surged 41.7 percent and 68.3 percent, respectively.

More mobile and smart technology was applied in banking services and risk monitoring, supporting the bank's business growth, the statement said.

Non-performing loan ratio dropped 0.04 percentage points from a year earlier to 1.7 percent at the end of 2017.

This year, the bank will continue to create new business models to develop retail banking and smart banking, the statement said.