Chinese Banks Now Have Greater Say in Determining Deposit Rates

For the first time, major Chinese commercial banks have lowered reference deposit rates for general customers while the central bank benchmark remains unchanged, marking a step forward in a decades-long push for lenders to set interest rates based on market factors.

On Thursday, China’s “Big Five” state-owned commercial banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Bank of Communications Co. Ltd., China Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) and Bank of China Ltd. — lowered all savings products’ reference interest rates for average customers, according to their websites.