Bank of Nanjing Co., Ltd., a Chinese city commercial bank, posted Wednesday a 14.5 percent annual growth in 2018 net profits as it continued to optimize its business structure and rein in risks.

Its net income attributable to shareholders reached 11 billion yuan (1.64 billion U.S. dollars) last year, according to the bank's unaudited preliminary financial results for 2018 filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The lender, headquartered in Nanjing, capital of eastern China's Jiangsu Province, generated a revenue of 27.4 billion yuan last year, up 10.3 percent year on year.

Its total assets reached 1.24 trillion yuan by the end of 2018, an annual increase of 8.34 percent.

Shares of Bank of Nanjing opened 3.23 percent higher at 7.98 yuan Wednesday in Shanghai.