INDUSTRIAL and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) beat estimates with a near 7 percent rise in its first-quarter net profit, the fourth of China’s biggest lenders to show more resilient profits than expected as interest income held firm.

    ICBC said yesterday net profit rose to 73.3 billion yuan (US$11.7 billion) in the first quarter, compared with an average estimate of 71.52 billion yuan from a poll of 11 analysts.

    Interest margins are expected to fall in the long run for Chinese banks, as the country’s regulators liberalize interest rates that guarantee a fat spread between the rate banks pay depositors and the rate at which they lend.

    China’s central bank said Tuesday it will speed up interest rate reforms and reiterated the urgency of establishing a deposit insurance system.

    Further short-term pressure on interest margins comes from competition for depositors’ money from wealth management products and online funds, which are pushing savers into deposit products that are costlier for banks to provide. (SD-Agencies)