Chinese banks' deposit rates vary after interest rates cut

BEIJING -- Chinese commercial banks Saturday started to adjust their deposit and lending rates after the first interest rate cut in more than two years.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, Friday cut the benchmark rate for one-year deposits by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent and the one-year lending rate by 40 basis points to 5.6 percent.

Most commercial banks have lowered their lending rates to 5.6 percent, but smaller banks are using higher rates to attract deposits, according to banks' statements and announcements analyzed by Xinhua.

The PBOC Friday also lifted the upper limit of the floating band of deposit rates to 1.2 times the benchmark from the existing 1.1 times announced in June 2012, a big step in interest rate reform. Prior to that, China's commercial banks were generally not allowed to offer deposits rates higher than the benchmark.

Deposit rates at the nation's five biggest banks, namely the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Bank of Communications stood at 3 percent, about 1.09 times the benchmark rate of 2.75 percent.

Some mid-sized banks like Industrial Bank, China Minsheng Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank offered deposit rates at 3.025 percent, about 1.1 times the benchmark.

Deposit rates at smaller banks like Bank of Ningbo and Bank of Nanjing which have fewer branches but bigger pressure to attract deposits are offering even higher deposit rates at 3.3 percent, 1.2 times the benchmark, the ceiling of such rates.

Some experts including CFFEX Institute for Financial Derivatives chief analyst Zhao Qingming held that the asymmetric interest rates cut narrowed banks' profit margins, which could be interpreted as an attempt to shift part of the banks' profits to enterprises.