JOHANNES EISELE

China's six largest state-owned banks added more than 6 trillion yuan ($845 billion) in fixed-term deposits in the first half of 2026, even as the rates paid on those deposits fell to record lows, according to bank disclosures compiled by Yicai.

Combined corporate and personal fixed-term deposits at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China and Bank of Communications rose by 6.04 trillion yuan in the six months to June. Individual depositors accounted for 3.76 trillion yuan of the increase, while corporate deposits rose by 2.27 trillion yuan. ICBC, CCB and ABC each added more than 1 trillion yuan. Fixed-term deposits accounted for nearly 90% of the six banks' total deposit growth during the period, up by about 10 percentage points from a year earlier, although the absolute increase was smaller than in the first half of 2025.

The increase came as the major state-owned banks cut their benchmark three- and five-year deposit rates to as low as 1.55%, down 125 to 135 basis points from three years earlier. Bank executives said most high-rate deposits reaching maturity were being rolled over rather than withdrawn. Bank of Communications Vice-President Zhou Wankui said the bank's renewal rate for maturing deposits was above 90% "even though deposit rates have fallen to historic lows." China Construction Bank Vice-President Tang Shuo cited a similar rollover rate for personal fixed-term deposits.

Nationwide, yuan-denominated deposits stood at 346.44 trillion yuan at the end of June, up 8.2% year on year, according to People's Bank of China data. Household deposits reached 173.48 trillion yuan after rising by 7.58 trillion yuan in the first half, a slower pace than the 10.77 trillion yuan increase recorded during the same period in 2025. Lower deposit rates have also benefited the major banks: all six lenders reported double-digit declines in deposit interest expenses in the first half even as their deposit balances grew. This helped stabilise net interest margins, which bank executives identified as one of the better-than-expected aspects of this year's results.

Originally published on IBTimes Hong Kong