Outstanding loans at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) amounted to US$770 billion at the end of 2009, while the bank’s deposits totaled US$1.5 trillion, the Wall Street Journal reported. ICBC president Yang Kaisheng told reporters at the National People’s Congress that loans grew 24.27% last year, but did not reveal whether the figure was for new or outstanding loans. Yang’s comments come in advance of ICBC’s release of its full 2009 results, due in the coming weeks. China’s banks have been warned to ease lending in 2010 over fears that a massive increase in stimulus-driven credit spending was getting out of hand.