SHANGHAI - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, already the world's most profitable lender and the largest bank by market capitalisation, said its deposits have also topped global counterparts.
ICBC's customer deposits reached 8.9 trillion yuan (US$1.30 trillion) at the end of the first quarter, rising 950 billion from the beginning of this year, it said in a statement late on Monday.
Its total deposits would be 9.8 trillion yuan if interbank deposits were also included, compared with US$1.01 trillion of deposits at JPMorgan Chase, the US bank with the largest deposits, ICBC said.
'In recent years, assets and deposits of European, American and Japanese banks have risen sharply due to mergers and acquisitions of major banks,' it said in the statement.
'In contrast, ICBC's expansion has largely been propelled by the domestic market,' and that reflected the development of China's economy and financial industry, it said. -- REUTERS
