China Construction Bank's risk exposure to stock markets low -chairman

BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) - China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) has a low risk exposure to the country's stock markets, with less than 20 billion yuan ($3.14 billion) of loans collateralised with stock and 50 billion to 60 billion yuan in credit lines provided to securities firms, Chairman Wang Hongzhang said on Monday. Less than 40 billion yuan, or about a third, of the bank's wealth management products are invested in the stock market, Wang said at the bank's interim results press conference in Beijing. CCB is the country's second-biggest lender by assets. Speaking at the same event, the bank's vice governor Zhang Gengsheng said the firm had lent state margin lender China Securities Finance Corp 148 billion yuan, a figure he said was small compared to other banks. He added that he expects the bank's asset quality will deteriorate in the second half of this year. CCB over the weekend reported lacklustre half-year profits and increased non-performing loans. ($1 = 6.3760 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Nicholas Heath; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)