Major Banks To Cut Deposit Rates

Major state-owned banks will start a new round of deposit interest-rate cuts, only three months after the last round of adjustments, Yicai.com reported. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China took the led to announce a 10bp cut to three- and six-month, and one-year time deposits, a 20bp cut to two-year, and a 25bp cut to three- and five-year since Friday. After the adjustment, the rates were reduced to 1.15-2%. Banks could further lower deposit rates to offset the pressure on profit margins following the cuts of existing mortgage rates, said Ming Ming, chief economist at CITIC Securities. The net-interest margin of commercial banks was 1.73% by end-Q3, a decrease of 0.21 percentage points from the same period last year, data by National Administration of Financial Regulation showed.