Big four state banks see profit slump

Profits at four major state-owned banks flatlined in 2015 as the level of bad loans in the country increased to a 10-year high, the banks’ latest earning reports showed, according to Caixin. Interest rate cuts by the central bank has squeezed the margins of the country’s four largest lenders in terms of assets further, the reports released in late March showed. Bank of China said its earnings rose 1.25% in 2015, down from 8.1% in 2014. Profits of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest lender, edged up 0.52% to RMB277.1 bn last year. Declines are also likely this year.