Internet finance shaking up Chinese banks
Chinese banks' resilience to the growing popularity of Internet finance has been "so far, so good" and sector change will come as the industry catches the trend, analysts in Hong Kong said.
By the end of March, at least 11 banks had posted annual results. They show continued net-profit growth, 13.9 percent on average in 2013, three percentage points lower than the year before. That's in the limelight of Internet finance.
"Because of rising funding costs, the banking sector saw slower profit growth this year. Margins are narrowing," said Grace Wu, Hong Kong-based analyst of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. "The pressure isn't severe. Chinese banks still enjoy a loan price advantage. We maintain a stable outlook on sector margins this year."