Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market capitalisation, reported a 6 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter yesterday, thanks mainly to rising fee income.
However, while the results were stronger than those of many of ICBC's foreign peers, they also signal growing pressures on net interest margins in the wake of a series of rate cuts by the People's Bank of China.
Chinese banks lent over three times more during the first quarter of this year than in the same period in 2008 – a surge that added to hopes that Beijing's economic stimulus package might be working. But the loan surge has also raised worries over credit quality.