Three top Chinese banks cut interest rates to boost flagging economy

Three of China's biggest banks have cut interest rates on a range of yuan deposits, a move that could ease their pressure on contracting profit margins and provide more room for reducing lending costs amid a faltering economy.

The banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, cut their deposit rates by between five and 25 basis points, websites from each bank showed on Friday.

Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that major state banks would cut deposit rates.

The lenders cut rates on one-year time deposits by 10 basis points (bps) to 1.55 percent, and two-year time deposit by 20 bps and three-year and five-year time deposits by 25 bps.

The deposit rate cut is the third such cut within a year, with the scale of cuts bigger than previous rounds in June and in September last year.

Cutting interest rates

The cut will partially offset various pressures on banks' narrowing net interest margins — a key gauge of profitability, said Nicholas Zhu, a banking analyst at Moody's.

"The impact of the deposit rate cut is material, given that close to three-quarters of Chinese banks' liabilities are deposits," Zhu said.

Some state-owned banks are expected to soon lower interest rates on existing mortgages as Beijing ramps up efforts to revive the debt-hit property sector and bolster a sputtering economy.

Two of China's midsized banks, Industrial Bank Co Ltd and China Bohai Bank Co Ltd, announced Thursday night that they will start cutting interest rates on a range of deposits from Friday by 10-25 basis points.