Tougher environment takes toll on bank results

Chinese banks are reporting their weakest results in years as the economy slows and interest rate liberalization speeds up, and challenges are set to continue amid rising uncertainties, analysts said.

As of Thursday, 15 of 16 Chinese listed banks had released interim results. Their total first-half net profit was up 13.6 percent year-on-year to 616.9 billion yuan ($100.8 billion).

The growth rate was markedly below the 18-percent average recorded last year, though it fell within expectations, said Guo Tianyong, director of the Research Center of the Chinese Banking Industry at the Central University of Finance and Economics.