China’s Mega Banks Hit by Margin Squeeze Amid Bad Loan Pressure

(Bloomberg) — China’s biggest banks, including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., reported slowing earnings growth and eroding margins after being enlisted by Beijing to help stave off a deeper slump in the world’s second-largest economy.

ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by assets, reported net income grew 4.9%, the slowest in two years, in the first half, while earnings at Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. climbed 6.3% and 5.4% year-on-year, respectively. ICBC’s net interest margin slid to 2.03% from 2.12% and CCB’s narrowed to 2.09%, while BOC’s was unchanged at 1.76% from a year earlier.