Bad loans continued to rise at China CITIC Bank Co Ltd during the first six months of the year, putting more pressure on the lender's profit-making ability and risk controls.

As of June 30, the outstanding nonperforming loans of the medium-sized lender reached 30.48 billion yuan ($4.77 billion), up 20.7 percent from the previous year. Its NPL ratio increased by 13 basis points to 1.32 percent during the same period.

Fang Heying, executive vice-president of China CITIC Bank, said at a media conference on Wednesday that defusing financial risks will be one of the bank's top priorities.