Q1 profit growth at all of China's big four banks slows to less than 2%

First-quarter profits at China’s four major state banks grew by less than 2%, down dramatically from a growth range of 7-14% just a year earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported. Profit rose by 1.4% to RMB74.3 billion (US$12 billion) at Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (1398.HKG, 601398.SHA); by 1% to RMB45.84 billion at Bank of China (3988.HKG, 601988.SHA); by 1.9% to RMB67 billion at China Construction Bank (0939.HKG, 601939.SHA); and by 1.3% to RMB54.12 billion at Agricultural Bank of China (1288.HKG, 601288.SHA). The banks’ profit growth had typically outstripped the pace of China’s broader economic expansion during the boom years, but it now appears they may likewise be hit harder as the economy slows.