Big banks cut deposit rates to strengthen sector stability

This file photo shows a worker counting Chinese currency at a bank in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/Xinhua]

SEVERAL major Chinese commercial banks cut deposit rates on Thursday, signaling a new round of deposit rate cuts that could pave the way for further reductions in policy benchmarks of lending rates to bolster economic growth, market analysts said.

China's six largest State-owned banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications and Postal Savings Bank of China — cut their deposit rates for the first time since December.