Growth slows, bad loans rise at China Merchants Bank

Growth at China Merchants Bank (3968.HKG, 600036.SHA) slowed to 8.26% in the first half of 2015, down from year-on-year growth of nearly 15% the previous year, South China Morning Post reported, citing the bank’s latest earnings report. Bad loans also increased markedly, rising to 1.5% as of the end of June after remaining low for the first quarter. While the bank’s net interest margin grew to 2.83%, indicating a rise in loan profitability, it does not expect that income to hold up going forward, noting that “the negative impact of the central bank’s interest rate cuts will become apparent gradually, which is expected to have certain pressure on the net interest margin in the second half.”