Shanghai/Hong Kong — Industrial & Commercial Bank of China posted its fastest profit growth in three years as a strengthening economy curbed soured loans and the government’s campaign to cut debt boosted its lending margins. Net income rose to 286-billion yuan ($45.6bn) in 2017 from 278.3-billion yuan a year earlier, the world’s largest lender by assets said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday. That was an improvement on the 281.7-billion yuan average of 14 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Beijing-based ICBC and its four largest peers are staging a comeback thanks to improvements in borrowers’ repayment ability and higher demand for loans. They are also benefiting from President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on excessive debt, which is forcing smaller banks to turn to their larger peers to borrow money, thereby driving up margins. ICBC chairperson Yi Huiman said at a media conference in Hong Kong that he was content with 2017’s better-than-expected results and expected asset qual...
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